


Kiss Kiss Katsudon!

by AwkwardPotatoChild



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Ouran High School Host Club, Bullying, Comedy, Drama, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Host Clubs, I'm so bad at this, M/M, Mutual Pining, Protective Siblings, Romance, Romantic Comedy, Sibling Bonding, Slice of Life, idk what else to tag this with, it's ohshc, that's all you need to know for now
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-16
Updated: 2018-06-16
Packaged: 2018-11-14 23:59:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 6
Words: 53,346
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11218959
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AwkwardPotatoChild/pseuds/AwkwardPotatoChild
Summary: “Yuuri, will you join us? Will you join the Host Club?”Yuuri’s eyes grew wide and his mouth hung open slightly as Victor clasped his hand in his, bringing it up to his face. Did he imagine that or did Victor’s lipsactuallybrush against his knuckles just now? He looked into Victor’s blue eyes and saw the kindness and honesty within them as he kneeled before Yuuri. He unconsciously licked his lips in anticipation when he noticed the corner of Victor’s mouth lift to make a soft smile. Yuuri gasped quietly, suddenly realizing the situation he was currently in. The world seemed to disappear as the two of them continued to stare at each other, only momentarily being brought back to reality at the sound of Yuri complaining about how nothing was happening. Shaking his head and bringing himself back to his senses, Yuuri closed his eyes and took a deep breath before giving Victor a serious look.“No.”aka the OHSHC AU that someone has probably already written, but I'm writing again anyway because I can and I think it'll be fun to write





	1. Welcome to the Host Club!

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! Hello! Welcome to my newest fic! I'm thankful to have you here! Glad we could all bond over OHSHC and YOI!
> 
> First off, for readers of my other fics, don't worry! _Yes, Professor?_ and _Day by Day_ will always be my main priority. I love and adore this fic as well and I'm so excited for you all to read it and give me your reactions, but _Yes, Professor?_ will always come first until I finish since it is a story that is very deeply personal to me. So those two will continue to get the unofficially regular updates that they've been getting. This story will have more irregular updates since the chapters are WAY longer than my other two fics.
> 
> Second, readers of my other fics might have also noticed that I've chosen to use Victor/Yuuri instead of Viktor/Yuri like I usually do. That's because I truly have no idea which spelling I prefer more, so I've decided to switch for this fic. Also, Yuri P. is more prominent in this fic than my other fic, so that'll be very confusing.
> 
> Third, I have two important links for you! One leads to [the special extras tag](http://dangcommaannie.tumblr.com/tagged/kiss-kiss-katsudon-extras) for _Kiss Kiss Katsudon!_ and the other leads to [my writing updates tag](http://dangcommaannie.tumblr.com/tagged/annie-writes-updates)! The extras tag will be filled with questions I've answered about the fic from you guys and any other random tidbits I want to share with you. The writing updates tag will let you know of how things are coming along, in case you get curious and are wondering if I'm dead in a ditch somewhere.
> 
> Fourth, yes, I have seen and read OHSHC and I love it dearly, but I'm not trying to 100% replicate it here. This is an AU for a reason, so I've made some adjustments to sort of fit things together. I still hope you all enjoy and appreciate what I've done though.
> 
> Fifth, I don't have a beta or anything, so if there are any mistakes, don't hesitate to let me know!
> 
> I think that's everything I have to say for now, so enjoy! :]

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He's perfect and I want him.

“I’m so lost.”

Yuuri sighed to himself, hands clutching his books to his chest. He wandered aimlessly around the vast corridors in search of, well, anything, at this point. He was only trying to find another place to study since the library was, apparently, for social happenings and hanging out after school, but he was far too awkward to ask someone for help, being the new student and everything. It didn’t help that no one seemed to want to help him out either since he didn’t exactly meet their rich standards, given his current state of attire. Yuuri considered himself to be a patient person, but with each person that “accidentally” bumped into him and the fact that he was largely an introvert coming into play, he was slowly becoming more and more irritated with every passing minute. He wasn’t too surprised by their behavior, but come on! Show some slack to the transfer student! It’s not his fault Ouran failed to mention that his full scholarship didn’t include the uniform!

_ It’s going to be fine, Yuuri. You’re here to study. This is a great school. It doesn’t matter what they do. Just focus on yourself and your work. It’s going to be fine. _

Yuuri continued his search for solitude, getting closer and closer to giving up. After who knows how long and without consciously realizing it since he had no idea how to navigate this massive school (You’d think they would’ve at least given him a map), Yuuri had turned down a surprisingly empty corridor. His forehead furrowed in confusion at the lack of people and noise. He had to do a double take and clean his glasses twice to make sure he wasn’t wishfully imagining things. Once it was confirmed that he was, in fact, by himself, with no one else around, Yuuri let his shoulders sag in relief and let out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding.

Calmer now, Yuuri felt less pressure to run about searching for a place to study. From the signs above the doors, Yuuri realized that he had found his way into the music hallway. That made him tilt his head in confusion, given the fact that he couldn’t hear any music playing, but he wasn’t about to complain about the first good thing to happen to him today. Yuuri shrugged at this though, and began to walk past the first two music rooms. He decided on the one at the end the hallway, assuming that someone would’ve been using the first couple for their own after school practices. Taking another deep breathe, Yuuri looked up at the large doors and re-read the sign above it. Placing a hand on the ornate doorknob, Yuuri pushed the door open and entered Music Room 3. Finally! Some peace and quiet!

“Welcome to the Host Club!”

Or not.

A flurry of rose petals danced in front of Yuuri’s face and he quickly waved his hand to brush them aside. Once able to see again, Yuuri finally noticed the figures lined up in front of him. His face twisted in confusion as he tried to absorb what was happening. Standing before Yuuri was a group of five attractive guys all lined up, dressed impeccably in the school uniform, bright lights and the sound of sparkles added to the ambiance and dreamlike state that Yuuri was in.  _ I didn’t even know sparkles made sounds. _ Yuuri stared at them, wide-eyed and open-mouthed. If Yuuri was met with a sight like this any other day, he probably would’ve thought that the gods were blessing him with their finest gifts, but given the day that Yuuri was having and the shock of the situation, Yuuri did the only logical thing he could think of doing:

He closed the door.

“Nope.”

Slamming it shut and turning around, Yuuri shot back down the hallway he had came from, shaking his head the entire time and regretting so much in life. He could vaguely register the sound of footsteps following him and began to move even faster.

_ Nope. Nope. Nope. This isn’t happening. This isn’t happening! _

Before he could comprehend it, whoever was following him had caught up to him and was lifting him onto their shoulder without much effort. Adrenaline kicked in and Yuuri began to frantically flail about, panic beginning to fill him.

“Wait! Let me go! Please! I’m sorry! I didn’t know you were in there and I just needed a place to study! I really didn’t mean to!” wailed Yuuri as he continued to be carried down the hallway. If he had stopped for a moment, he would’ve heard the person chuckle and tell him that it was alright, but even if Yuuri had heard the stranger, he probably wouldn’t have believed him either.

Yuuri continued to kick and struggle as they made their way down the hallway. They soon made it back to Music Room 3, where Yuuri was then placed on a lush couch. Realizing that he was no longer horizontal, Yuuri looked around frantically, trying to gather his bearings. A glass of water was suddenly held out in front of him and his gaze moved up the hand that was holding it, where he was met with the sight of two people standing side by side. Both were smiling at him, but the one holding the glass had a smile brighter than the sun.

“Hey there. Sorry about that! We didn’t meant to scare you!”

“Uhh…”

Yuuri stared at the two strangers before him, starting with the person holding the glass. He seemed familiar to him. Yuuri thinks that he might recognize him from class.  _ What was his name? Phuket? No. Wait. That’s in Thailand. That can’t be it. _ It took a beat, but it suddenly clicked for Yuuri that they might actually be seated next to each other and he now felt guilty for not knowing his name. He remembered him being one of the few people in class who hadn’t look at Yuuri as if he had just crawled out of the sewers and was glad to have that kindness here now since Yuuri was still feeling incredibly awkward and uncomfortable.

He shifted his gaze over to the person next to his classmate. The first thing Yuuri noticed about the second person was how much taller he was compared to the other person. Being so much larger, Yuuri assumed that this was the person who had carried him back here. The second thing Yuuri noticed was his hair. It was two-toned with blond on top and a brown undercut. So fascinated was Yuuri that he hadn’t realized he was staring until the person suddenly winked at him, causing him to blush involuntarily. Yuuri quickly looked away to try and hide his blush, but he knew he had been caught when he heard someone laughing.

“He’s cute. I like him.”

Yuuri turned to face the source of the voice and was met with another wink again. His cheeks grew even warmer at this, which only made the person laugh even more. His classmate turned around to face his friend. Yuuri could see that he had a semi-stern look on his face.

“Chris, stop teasing him. It’s not nice.”

Chris only shrugged and gave an innocent look in response. Shaking his head, his classmate turned back to him and offered the glass of water again. Yuuri reached for it tentatively and took a small sip. This made his classmate smile again.

“Once again, we’re sorry about that. We thought you were an early customer. I mean, that would’ve been fine, if you had been! We serve anyone and everyone! But we all figured that wasn’t the case since you closed the door in our faces and ran off like that.”

Yuuri looked away awkwardly at this. Oops.

He looked back up again at the sound of his classmate’s laughter. He clearly wasn’t bothered by what happened and neither was Chris, so Yuuri assumed that everything was alright with them. Having calmed down some more, Yuuri finally found his voice.

“Um. Sorry about that,” spoke Yuuri. He squirmed about uncomfortably. “Thank you for the water…”

“Phichit,” supplied the smiling boy. He didn’t appear to be offended by Yuuri’s poor memory.

“Phichit! Sorry. Um. You’ve both been really nice, but I think I’m gonna go now. I was only looking for a place to study, so I’m very sorry about disturbing you. I’ll just leave you guys to...whatever it is you were doing before I interrupted. Thank you once again.”

Yuuri handed the glass back to Phichit, who gave him a small smile, understanding that he had places to be and things to do. He stood up, gathered his things, and gave Chris an awkward smile, expecting to get another wink, but got a pleasant smile in return. Yuuri walked between the two of them towards the door, but was stopped by an unfamiliar voice.

“Wait! Stop!”

Yuuri’s path was suddenly blocked by someone and he gasped at the unexpected presence, dropping his books in surprise. He took a step back in shock and took in the sight of the person before him, instantly enchanted. He was about the same height as Chris, maybe slightly shorter. If Yuuri had thought Chris’s hair was fascinating before, it was nothing compared to this person’s silver hair, all of it looking like fine silk that Yuuri wanted to reach out and touch. Moving his gaze downward, he gasped once again at the intense blue within the person’s eyes, feeling as if they knew everything about Yuuri already. Captivated, Yuuri and the stranger continued to stare at each other intently, searching for answers in each other, momentarily lost. Yuuri wondered if the stranger was this enchanted by him.

“Victor, what are you doing?” cut in Phichit, breaking their staring contest.

Victor blinked and shook his head slightly before turning to look at Phichit. Yuuri hadn’t realized that Phichit was now standing behind him and he looked back and forth between the two of them, curious about what was happening.

“What am  _ I  _ doing? Phichit, what are  _ you  _ doing? I leave to check on something for two seconds and I come back to find him about to leave!”

“He was just lost. I thought you told Chris to get him, so we could apologize.”

Victor sighed and shook his head. He crossed his arms as he continued speaking to Phichit.

“Yes, I wanted us to apologize, but there’s more than that.”

Yuuri raised an eyebrow and tilted his head, which Phichit matched. Chris had approached them at some point and was now standing next to Phichit. He seemed just as perplexed as they were. With an exasperated sigh, Victor then flashed them a Hollywood-worthy smile before holding Yuuri’s face in his hands, squishing his cheeks slightly and turning his head to face Chris and Phichit. Yuuri let out a small squeak when this happened and his heart went into overdrive again.

“Phichit, look at him. He’s perfect and I want him.”

“What?!” screeched Yuuri. He immediately pulled Victor’s hands away from his face and stepped away from all of them. If he thought he was confused before, it was nothing compared to how he was feeling now. Yuuri immediately moved even further from the group, a scandalized look on his face. “What do you people do here?!”

Phichit was immediately by his side, trying to calm him down and apologizing for Victor’s poor phrasing. Chris was openly laughing at Victor’s choice of words, though, while Victor was just now realizing why he shouldn’t have said that and gave a sheepish grin.

“It’s okay. We’re okay. It’s gonna be okay. Give Victor a chance to better explain that, alright? There we go,” whispered Phichit soothingly as he led Yuuri back to the same couch he was sitting on earlier. Yuuri’s heart was still beating at a mile a minute, but it was doing vastly better than before. Doing his best to slow down his breathing further, Yuuri nodded, signaling that it was okay for Victor to continue. Victor and Chris had now joined Phichit in front of him.

“Okay. I admit that was not the best way to say that, but give us a moment and I’ll explain everything.”

Yuuri nodded at Victor again, who gave him a wide grin. Yuuri then watched as he ran off into another room that he hadn’t noticed was there. Chris and Phichit remained by his side. He wondered if any of them felt as awkward as he did right now.

_ How big is this music room, by the way? Definitely didn’t see that doorway when I was getting carried in. _

Yuuri raised his eyebrows in concern when he heard the faint sounds of struggle coming from the other room. Chris and Phichit didn’t seem fazed by the disturbance and instead, were casually chatting about weekend plans, so Yuuri didn’t bother asking. He was still mildly concerned about what was going on in the other room though.

A few more seconds of struggling occurred before Victor walked out of the room, followed by two other people. One had short black hair with an undercut and looked to be shorter than he was. He was wearing a neutral expression and was clearly older than the other, who had chin-length blond hair. The blond boy was visibly unhappy about being interrupted and dragged away from whatever it was he was doing and Yuuri unconsciously drew back from his angry gaze. Yuuri noticed that, unlike the others, the black haired boy didn’t wear the tie that went with the school uniform and had his shirt untucked, the first few buttons left open. The blond boy lacked both the uniform jacket and tie. His dress shirt was left free and unbuttoned too, but with the sleeves haphazardly rolled up.

“Okay. Now that we’re all together…”

Victor looked expectantly at the others, who then began to line up like they had before when Yuuri first walked into the room, some of them more reluctantly than others. The rose petals and sparkles from before suddenly appeared and Yuuri wondered how they hell they got that to happen.

“We’re the Ouran High School Host Club!” they all said in unison, hands beckoning for Yuuri to join them.

“Um. Okay?”

“We, the Host Club, are a group of handsome boys, who spend our time charming and entertaining the students of Ouran. Our mission is to bring happiness and joy to the student population,” spoke Victor. He gave Yuuri a dazzling smile and took a step towards him from the center of the group. He placed a hand over his heart and gestured towards the other club members. “So what’s your type?”

“Uh…”

“We have Chris, the sexy type.”

Starting from the left, Chris stepped forward and gave Yuuri the same wink he had given him earlier, making Yuuri blush once again. He blew a kiss at the blushing boy, for good measure, as well.

“Phichit, the cheerful type.”

This time, Phichit stepped forward, giving Yuuri a bright smile and a little wave. He then gave a cute wink of his own that made Yuuri smile. “Hi there!”

“Otabek, the silent and cool type.”

Otabek said nothing as he ran his fingers through his hair. There seemed to be wind coming from somewhere, despite the fact that Yuuri was certain all of the windows were closed. Yuuri wasn’t going to deny the fact that the action was incredibly attractive though.

“Yuri, the pretty type.”

Yuri only looked away with the same angry expression from before. He clearly wasn’t happy about his given title, but Yuuri had to agree with the title though. The boy’s blond hair covered half of his face and shined in the light, creating an ethereal glow, blue eyes standing out within a sea of gold

“Or maybe I’m your type? Victor, the princely type.”

Victor stepped closer to Yuuri and now had a hand under Yuuri’s chin, tilting his face up and towards Victor’s. Yuuri gulped at the proximity, able to see every individual eyelash and freckle as Victor gazed at him adoringly. His throat dried and he was really hoping for a glass of water before he had to answer that question. Not that he had an answer just yet, but it would’ve been nice to have a glass of water on hand. Luckily, Victor stepped back and continued speaking.

“However, that’s not why you’re here!” exclaimed Victor. He turned his face away from Yuuri and was now looking off dramatically into the distance. “Oh no. We know you’re not here to be with a host since you slammed the door in our faces!”

_ Come on. I did apologize for that. _

“No!” continued Victor. He whipped back around and pointed directly at Yuuri’s face, making him go slightly cross eyed.

“You’re here because I want YOU!”

“Me?!”

“Yes! You! To be our newest member! I want you to join the Host Club!”

“WHAT?!”

Yuuri knew he had yelled, but he hadn’t realized that the other club members had voiced their own astonishment until he saw them rush over to where he and Victor were.

“Victor, what are you doing?” asked Phichit. He turned Victor around to face him. “Yuuri can’t join us. He just transferred here and he’s overwhelmed enough as it is. You can’t just throw something like that at him now.”

“I didn’t know about the transfer thing, but I agree with Phichit,” added Chris. “You saw how he ran away from us and he’s still a worried mess now. Being a part of the Host Club might be too much for him.”

Phichit turned to look at Chris and nodded in agreeance. Both of them glanced at each other worriedly before looking back at Victor, who was carefully listening to their thoughts. Behind Victor, Yuri was the next to chime in.

“Yeah. He wouldn’t fit in anyway, unless someone is interested in a coward host.”

The blond boy crossed his arms as he said this. He gave Yuuri a glare, making him turn away awkwardly. He didn’t disagree with Yuri’s reasoning though. Victor hummed at Yuri’s words and let everything that had been said be processed. He turned his head back to look at Otabek, who only nodded, silently agreeing with what everyone else had mentioned.

“I see,” said Victor. “You all have some very good reasons.”

Everyone let out a sigh of relief, believing that Victor would let Yuuri go and continue his life.

“However!”

_ Damn it. _

“However,” continued Victor, “I’m going to have to disagree with all of you. I think Yuuri would be perfect for the Host Club!”

“Victor…”

“Let me explain!” Victor gestured to Yuuri again. “I admit that our first meeting wasn’t the best, but I know potential when I see it and he’s exactly what we’re missing! We need someone that can relate to the students on a more...realistic level. All of us are make up part of a great and extravagant fantasy. People like the idea of having a bad boy or a prince or whatever whisking them away and fulfilling their wildest dreams, but we need someone more simple, more normal, more...natural. Call him awkward or shy or cowardly all you want, but he’s real, and that’s exactly what we need.”

Victor looked as if he had found the holy grail of hosts in Yuuri, eyes twinkling with prospects of the future. Yuuri sat silently and watched the other club members process Victor’s side of the argument. Victor turned and stared at all of them seriously, praying that they would all see what he did. Yuuri was flattered that Victor saw so much in him after only knowing him for about two minutes, but awkward, shy, and cowardly were definitely all words Yuuri would use to describe himself.

“So are we  _ not  _ real then or am I suddenly your current hair color?”

Victor pouted at Yuri’s words and huffed, causing the younger boy to smirk.

“You know what I mean, Yura,” said Victor. He reached up to tug at some strands. “And you know this is my real hair!”

“I understand what you’re trying to say, Victor,” said Phichit. “It would be nice to have someone like Yuuri around, but you can’t just make him join like this and I doubt he wants to. Like I said earlier, he just transferred here and he’s one of the scholarship students too. He doesn’t need anymore on his plate.”

The other members all nodded at this, minus Yuri, who seemed bored with this whole argument now. Victor sighed and Yuuri thought that meant that he had given up on his quest to get Yuuri to join.

“Fine. You’re right. I can’t make him join us.”

“Thank you.”

“But what if he  _ wants _ to join us, Phichit? Did any of us bother to ask him?”

“Well, no, but Victor-”

“Great! Then, I’ll do it!”

Victor suddenly got down on one knee in front of Yuuri. The other club members all stared in shock at what Victor was doing and Yuuri did the same. He reached out a hand and beckoned for Yuuri’s before placing his other hand over his heart and gave Yuuri a gentle look.

“Yuuri, will you join us? Will you join the Host Club?”

Yuuri’s eyes grew wide and his mouth hung open slightly as Victor clasped his hand in his, bringing it up to his face. Did he imagine that or did Victor’s lips  _ actually _ brush against his knuckles just now? He looked into Victor’s blue eyes and saw the kindness and honesty within them as he kneeled before Yuuri. He unconsciously licked his lips in anticipation when he noticed the corner of Victor’s mouth lift to make a soft smile. Yuuri gasped quietly, suddenly realizing the situation he was currently in. The world seemed to disappear as the two of them continued to stare at each other, only momentarily being brought back to reality at the sound of Yuri complaining about how nothing was happening. Shaking his head and bringing himself back to his senses, Yuuri closed his eyes and took a deep breath before giving Victor a serious look.

“No.”

“Wonderf-”

Victor stood up and pulled away from Yuuri. The hand originally placed over his heart was now clutching at his chest in shock. Everyone could practically hear the sound of Victor’s brain shutting down. He looked as if Yuuri had just asked him to solve an advanced calculus problem, write a dissertation on the origin of verlan, and do a one-man performance of  _ Antigone _ in its original Ancient Greek by dinner tonight. His gaze sought out the rest of the club members with a befuddled look.

“Did he just-? Did he just say ‘no?’”

The Host Club all nodded in unison.

“He did. He said ‘no,’” nodded Phichit.

“I heard it too,” added Chris.

“Otabek? Yura?” Victor turned to face the other two members.

“Ha! He totally rejected you,” responded Yuri, a smile on his face.

“Yeah,” sighed Otabek. “He said ‘no,’ Victor.”

Victor remained frozen in shock as Yuuri’s short answer rang in his ears. He hadn’t expected that. Well, he kind of did, but he thought he had made a fair argument and was hoping Yuuri would see his side and accept the offer. He knew it was a possibility that Yuuri wouldn’t accept, but now that Yuuri actually rejected it, Victor couldn’t seem to fully accept his response.

“But why? Why won’t you join us? You’re perfect!”

Victor had his hands on Yuuri’s shoulder and was shaking him wildly. Luckily for Yuuri, Phichit and Chris were able to pry him off of him. He fixed his skewed glasses as they waited for his response.

“Look,” sighed Yuuri. “It’s nice that you want me to join and all, but I’m really not cut out for this. Like you said earlier, I’m really awkward and not good at talking to people and I’m not...attractive like you guys anyway. It wouldn’t work. This wouldn’t work. I’d just cause you guys more trouble, so yeah.”

Yuuri got up when he finished speaking and watched their reactions, specifically Victor’s since he was the one who really wanted Yuuri to stay, after all. He could see that Victor wasn’t happy with his decision, but would respect it. Victor sighed and nodded at Yuuri, letting him know that it was alright for him to leave.

“Sorry again for causing you any trouble. I’ll just...go now. Um. Thanks and, uh, bye, I guess. I’ll see you guys around?”

Phichit and Chris both gave Yuuri smiles as he walked through them. Otabek and Yuri seemed to not even notice that he was now leaving. Victor didn’t seem to pay attention to him either since he didn’t turn to look at Yuuri as he walked past him. Yuuri hoped he hadn’t offended him or anything. He could hear the sound of the club members moving behind him since Phichit had told them to get back to preparing for the customers today. He was halfway to the door when a voice stopped him.

“Yuuri, wait!”

Yuuri turned around to see Victor carrying his books.

“You forgot these. Definitely going to need them, if you plan on studying.”

Victor smiled at Yuuri as he said this and Yuuri could feel himself blush again. Victor’s charm was undeniable and Yuuri knew he had made the right choice by not joining. He didn’t have that kind of attraction. He definitely would’ve just dragged them down.

“O-oh. Right. Thank you.”

Yuuri reached for his books and gave Victor a small smile of his own. He gave a wave, continued his walk towards the door, only to suddenly bump into something, and that’s when Yuuri’s day got even worse.

It was cheesy to say that the world seemed to move in slow motion for Yuuri, but that’s exactly what happened as he watched the opulant vase fall off the pedestal and take a swan dive towards the marble floor. Yuuri mentally screamed at his body to move and catch it, or at least do something! But alas! His body failed to listen to his brain and it was obvious that he was too late. All he could do was stop and stare as it shattered into a million pieces on the marble floor.

CRASH!

_ Where the hell did that vase even come from?! _

Turning back around, Yuuri was certain that his expression matched the horrified expressions of the Host Club’s. His heart reached a whole new level of overdrive.

“Oh no,” whispered Yuuri. “Oh no. Oh no. Oh no!”

“Yuuri,” said Phichit. He was by Yuuri’s side once again. “It’s okay. It’s alright. We’re gonna sort all of this out. Okay?”

“Oh no. Oh no. Oh no,” continued Yuuri. He breathing grew shallow and his heart continued to race. “I’m sorry! I’m so sorry! I’ll pay for it! I mean it! I’ll pay for it! I’m sorry!”

“Yuuri, it’s not that simple.” Phichit’s face was marked with concern. He wasn’t sure how exactly to break the news to Yuuri without causing his heart to pop.

“I mean it! Just tell me the price and I’ll pay for it! I might have to ask my parents, but I’ll pay you back! I will! I promise! I’m sorry!”

Phichit took a deep breath and turned to look at the other club members. All of them had the same matching expression, worried about how Yuuri would react, none of them wanting to cause him more distress. Phichit looked to Victor for help, but all he got was a head shake and a shrug. Someone had to do this. He took a deep breath and braced himself for what was to come.

“So about the vase you just broke...”

“Yes?”

“The price for that is…”

“Yes? What is it? I’ll pay for it! I will!”

“8...”

“800¥? I can do that. That’s way less than I expected, but okay.”

“Um. No, you should probably add another zero and-”

“So 8,000¥? Okay. I can still pay for that.”

“Add another zero.”

“80,000¥?! Definitely need to ask my parents about that, but I think we can do it. They won’t be happy with me though.”

“Keep adding zeros, Yuuri.”

“800,000¥?!”

Phichit shook his head.

“One more.”

“8,000,000¥?! That vase was 8,000,000¥?!”

Yuuri was screeching again and from the look on Phichit’s face and the slight nod he just gave, 8 million yen was the actual price of the vase and never had Yuuri hated himself more than this moment.

_ I broke a vase that’s worth more than my life. Just leave me here to cry and die. _

Yuuri felt himself grow faint and his knees gave out beneath him. Otabek reacted quickly though and immediately helped Phichit lower him to the floor. 8 million yen. Jesus fucking Christ. Yuuri would have to sell his soul  _ and _ his family’s souls  _ and _ the souls of his neighbors in order to make any kind of dent in that amount of money.

_ I’m never going to be able to go home at this rate. I’m going to have to be sold off in order to pay for this vase. Oh my god. My life is over now. _

“Hey Yuuri,” whispered Phichit. He began rubbing circles into Yuuri’s back. “It’s okay. We’ll sort this out. We know it was an accident. It’s okay.”

Yuuri didn’t show any sign that he heard what Phichit had said and continued to stare at the ground in shock. Phichit looked up worriedly at the other members, silently asking them for help. They all looked away uncomfortably, not knowing what the next best plan would be. They all wanted to let it slide, but they also knew Yuuri had to pay for the vase in some way. The Host Club remained silent as they all pondered what to do. In the end, it was Victor who figured it out. He then kneeled in front of Yuuri and spoke.

“Yuuri, I’m sorry, but you’re going to have to pay for that vase.”

“I know,” whispered Yuuri. His hands clenched into fists and he struggled to fight back his tears. “But I don’t know if I can.”

“You can, Yuuri. There is a way for you to pay for it,” Victor sighed, “but I don’t know if you’ll like it very much.”

Victor looked up and saw the serious expression in Victor’s eyes. He knew the offer was genuine, but at this point, he was desperate. Anything would do! He would do anything! Anything at all! He shouted these words as he clutched at Victor’s jacket, begging for any possible way to fix this. Victor reached up and gently pried Yuuri’s hands off of him, but he didn’t let them go, holding them gently and letting their arms rest between them.

“Yuuri, be a host.”

“Victor! Are you serious?!” cried Phichit from next to Yuuri. “He just told you that he didn’t want to be a host! Can’t we find something else for him to do? He could...he could run errands for us! He could serve the customers! He could help me with the financials! Anything else would be fine! We can find something else for him to do, Victor!”

“I know,” said Victor calmly. “I know. But I also know that any of those other methods would take even longer for him to pay back the debt and I’m sure you know that too, Phichit.”

Phichit frowned at this.

“I know he doesn’t want to be a host, but if my math is correct, if he serves 1,000 customers, that should be enough to pay for the vase. If he becomes a host, he’ll be seeing multiple customers a day and that’ll add up to 1,000 easily and he’ll be done. And that’s not counting the money he’ll make off of merchandise sales, so he probably won’t even have to serve 1,000 customers. He won’t have to worry about it anymore. It’s the best option, Phichit.”

“But Victor-”

“I’ll do it.”

Both of them turned to face Yuuri.

“I’ll do it. I’ll be a host,” continued Yuuri. He gave Victor a small smile before turning to address Phichit. “Thanks for worrying about me, but it’s okay. I can handle this. It’s only 1,000. 1,000 customers and I’ll be done. It’s okay.”

Phichit sighed at this, but he knew it was not his place to argue. It was Yuuri’s choice and Phichit knew he couldn’t change that. Instead, he nodded and gave his new friend an encouraging smile. If Yuuri wanted to do this, Phichit would be there with him.

Getting Phichit’s approval, Yuuri faced Victor once again. He gave Victor a determined look, gathering as much confidence as he could. Victor smiled at the unwavering look in his eyes, but still felt a hint of worry for the new student.

“Are you sure you want to do this, Yuuri? It’s not that I don’t want you to, but I don’t want you to feel like you’re making the wrong decision here. Like Phichit said, we can find another job for you. It’s okay to say no.”

“I want to do this,” said Yuuri adamantly. “I want to be a host. I want to pay off my debt.”

Yuuri looked up at the other club members. They all gave him approving nods, even Yuri added in his approval as well. Yuuri gave them all a small smile before looking at Victor again.

“Besides,” he paused, “this could be fun and I was looking for a club to join anyway.”

Victor chuckled at this side of Yuuri. He nodded and squeezed his hands in encouragement, looking at him with new admiration. He knew the boy was anxious about what was to come, but he could see that he was going to give all that he could towards this new path and Victor knew that he and the club members would be more than happy to help him along the way.

“Well, in that case, welcome to the Host Club, Yuuri.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey again! Thank you so very much for reading my fic! It really means a lot to me, so thank you! Thank you! Thank you!  
> Just a reminder, I don't have a set schedule for this fic, but I promise you that I am working on it any chance that I can get. Chapters for this are much longer than the chapters for my other fics, so it'll take some more time.  
> Thank you so very much once again for reading! Your support is greatly appreciated! :D
> 
> [dangcommaannie.tumblr.com](http://dangcommaannie.tumblr.com)


	2. You've Got a Friend in Us

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Life is hard. There's no need to make it harder.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey there! It feels weird posting on a Tuesday, but here we are!  
> Thank you to everyone that showed their support by reading, commenting, subscribing, bookmarking, and leaving kudos!! I didn't expect that much support, so thank you so very much, everyone!  
> I also thank you for your patience. When I started writing this, I knew the chapters would be longer, but I didn't think they'd end up being _this_ long. This chapter alone is 11.4k! Holy crap!
> 
> Quick reminder that you can always find [writing updates](http://dangcommaannie.tumblr.com/tagged/annie-writes-updates) and [special extras](http://dangcommaannie.tumblr.com/tagged/kiss-kiss-katsudon-extras) on tumblr. I've been known to post spoilers on occasion. ;P
> 
> Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this update! Please tell me of any mistakes because I don't have a beta. XP

“Phichit, are you sure it’s okay for me to have this? I don’t want to cause any more trouble or anything.”

“Absolutely! We always have extra uniforms around, in case something gets spilled, so don’t worry about it. It won’t be added to your debt, so consider it a welcome gift.”

Yuuri tugged at the sleeves of the dress shirt, his hands constantly searching for something else to fix on him. The lack of a mirror in the changing room meant that he couldn’t see himself, but he hoped he didn’t look like too much of a mess and that he had remembered how to tie a tie correctly. He was never too fond of wearing them anyway. Yuuri sighed and shakily undid his tie before retying it. He knew he was only doing this out of anxiety, but he couldn’t stop his hands, feeling the need to do something with them.

It was surreal to think that not even half an hour ago, Yuuri was only a student who was looking for a place to study, and now, here he was! A host in the Ouran High School Host Club! It was certainly the last thing he ever expected to happen on his first day of class, but that’s just how life worked and he had to roll with it. Yuuri sighed before finally putting on the blue uniform jacket and adjusting it accordingly, knowing that he wouldn’t be able to put this off any longer since he could hear some of the other members growing restless outside. He took a deep breath, finally pulled aside the changing room curtain, and stepped out. The quiet conversations between the other members grew silent the moment Yuuri revealed himself to them. He tugged nervously at the edge of the collar of his shirt. Knowing that they were all staring at him, Yuuri turned his head away.

“I-is it okay? Do I look alright? Is my tie off? I tried my best, but I couldn’t really remember how to do it. None of my hair is sticking up, is it? There wasn’t a mirror, but I did what I could. I’m sorry. Is it okay?”

Yuuri looked down and played with his hands as he continued to vomit words. Yuri rolled his eyes at Yuuri’s ramblings, but a part of him understood his upperclassman’s concerns well. Otabek looked at him with what appeared to be the same blank expression as usual, but upon closer inspection, one would’ve noticed that the corner of his mouth was raised slightly and the look in his eyes was softer than usual. Chris, Phichit, and Victor were all more open with their adoration of Yuuri. On seeing him, Chris jokingly wolf-whistled at Yuuri, causing him to blush and ramble even more. Phichit smiled brightly at the sight of his new friend in their school uniform. It was obvious that the boy was nervous about what was to come, but Phichit looked forward to being able to help him and watch his growth throughout the school year. Victor looked at Yuuri with a soft look. His fondness was clear, but hints of regret were buried beneath it as well. Yes, he had been the one who wanted Yuuri to join in the beginning and he was happy that Yuuri was with them now. He truly meant it when he said that Yuuri was perfect for the job and he saw a lot of potential in the younger boy, but he wanted Yuuri to join on his own volition and he hated how Yuuri was forced to join because of a small accident. Surprisingly, Yuri had been the one to ask why they couldn’t pitch in to pay for it. He didn’t have to ask to know that he and some of the other members wanted to help him out, but knew it would be difficult to explain to their parents why they were spending money on someone they barely knew and might just make the situation even worse for Yuuri. The idea was cast aside quickly. Money was a really shitty thing sometimes.

Victor walked over to Yuuri and placed a hand on his shoulder, causing his stream of consciousness to end abruptly and his entire body freeze up, brown eyes looking up at Victor through glasses with a mixture of terror and awe. Victor grinned at his expression.

“You look perfect, Yuuri. Like a real host.”

Yuuri remained frozen and wide-eyed as Victor reached up to brush a strand of his hair out of the way. From this close up, Victor could catch how Yuuri’s cheeks had picked up a light pink and how his breathing had hitched slightly. They stared at each other for who knows how long once again, heads tilted and eyes peering deeply. The gravity of the whole situation earlier hadn’t given them the chance to notice the other, but now that they had the time, both of them realized something.  _ You look familiar… _ Just as they were on the verge of finding the answer, the two of them startled when Phichit finally walked up next to Victor and cleared his throat.

“Oh! Phichit! Explain what it is Yuuri will be doing as a host. I’ll take over your job for today.”

Victor quickly turned away and walked towards where the other members were standing. Since Victor was between them, Yuuri didn’t catch how Chris raised an eyebrow at Victor’s actions and gave him a knowing look. Victor shoved at his shoulder jokingly before giving orders to the members and ushering them away, all of them separating to get the room ready for the incoming customers. Yuuri turned his attention back to Phichit.

“Alright then! First, you look great, so don’t worry. Second, welcome to your first day as a host, Yuuri!” grinned Phichit. “We should probably start with actual introductions first since you’ll be spending a lot of time with us now.”

Yuuri nodded, eyes focused as he listened intently to everything Phichit said. He certainly didn’t want to make too many mistakes on his first day. Well, minus the vase incident, of course.

“I’m assuming you already know this, but I’ll say it again anyway. I’m Phichit. I’m obviously a second year like you since we’re in the same class together and everything, so we’ll definitely be seeing a lot of each other now. I’m also the vice-president of the Host Club, along with being a host.”

He gestured to Victor, who was trying to get Yuri off the couch and to stop putting his feet on the tables.

“Victor is in his third year and is the club president. He was the one that started the Host Club and he might not seem it, but he really is good at what he does. Yuri is the youngest out of all of us, being in his first year. He’s a bit rough around the edges at first, but he’s a good kid, once you get to know him.”

Phichit turned to look at Chris and Otabek, who were taking a short pause in setting up the tables for today and were now chatting by one of the large windows.

“Chris is also a third year. He and Victor have known each for the longest and was the first member to join after Victor, of course. He’s a flirt, but he doesn’t mean any of it. Otabek is a second year, like us, but he’s in a different class. He doesn’t say much and he might look scary, but he’s one of the nicest people we all know.”

Phichit began walking towards where the rest of the members were, near the main area of the Host Club, and Yuuri followed. The main area of the large room was separated into six different spaces, each one with two lush couches facing each other with an elegant coffee table between them. A few extra couches were placed along the walls as well, which was where Yuuri was seated earlier. Three sets were lined up along the windows and the remaining three sets were lined up along the main doors.  Each table already had tea and treats placed out for the incoming customers. Phichit led Yuuri to the set that was to the left of the main doors.

“This will be your place in the club. Each of the hosts has their own separate space to entertain guests. As a host, entertaining guests means you’ll basically be talking and flirting with them, as well as serving them tea and whatever else we have for the day. We all have types or images that are assigned to us based on your own traits and since you’re going to be the natural type, you just have to be yourself, so don’t stress out about it too much. The customers are paying for an experience though, so do your best to give them that. But there’s no need to push yourself too far either.”

Phichit gestured for Yuuri to sit and Yuuri followed. He then pointed at the space that was next to Yuuri’s, located in the top left corner in relation to everyone else.

“I’m in the space next to your’s, so I can keep track of all of the club members. If a guest is making you feel too uncomfortable, I’ll be by to stop it from progressing and if not me, another member will probably notice too. Feel free to eat the food we have as well. If you run out of anything, you can always grab more in the kitchen over there.”

Phichit gestured toward the doorway where Otabek and Yuri had walked out of when Yuuri first arrived. He placed a hand under his chin and hummed thoughtfully.

“I think that’s everything, so do you have any questions?”

Yuuri’s eyes scanned the room as he processed everything that Phichit had said. He looked at the other members waiting at their places and then at the table before him, searching his mind for any possible questions.

“Yeah. Um. How many people will I be serving today? Victor said earlier that I’d be meeting with multiple people a day and I wanted to know to prepare myself for that and everything.”

Yuuri awkwardly scratched at his arm, wondering if the question had been a stupid one. Phichit’s kindness would be his saving grace though for the boy simply smiled and nodded before answering.

“Since it’s your first day, you shouldn’t get too many. Most of the guests are scheduled appointments and already know which hosts they would like to be with. There are some scheduled guests who don’t pick a host until they arrive, so it’s possible that you’ll get a guests there. Some guests will show up without an appointment as well. Being a new host, I estimate that you’ll probably only have 2 to 3 guests to entertain today, but after you spend more time here and gain some more popularity, that number will increase. You’ll occasionally get someone who will pay extra for a one-on-one date too. But don’t worry about that now! We’ll just take it one day at a time.”

Yuuri sighed in relief at the number.

_ Alright. Three. I can handle that. It should be okay. _

He nodded at the information and continued looking around the room for anything else he might have missed. It was good to be safe than sorry, like with the vase. Yuuri’s eyes caught sight of the grand piano that was located further beyond Phichit’s space, in the back corner. His brow furrowed and he tilted his head at the sight of it, but then remembered that they were currently in one of the music rooms. The piano made more sense now, but it also brought up another question for Yuuri.

“Phichit, why is the Host Club in one of the music rooms? It seems like an odd place. Couldn’t you guys have used one of the classrooms or something?”

Phichit opened his mouth to speak, but closed it after a beat. His perplexed expression now matched Yuuri’s. 

“To be honest, I’m not 100% certain myself. Victor was the one that chose the room, so you’re going to have to ask him. I think he said something about wanting the piano, but I’ve never heard anyone play it though.”

Yuuri nodded at this. His expression grew blank as he contemplated this. Phichit realized that Yuuri had nothing more to ask and went off to do some last minute checks, leaving Yuuri to his thoughts. He settled himself further into the couch and grabbed one of the throw pillows to hold. He sighed as he clutched at it, doing his best to calm down before his first day as a host would officially begin. His thoughts kept going back to the vague answer that Phichit gave him earlier though.

_ A piano? _

* * *

“So you gonna tell me what’s up between you and your new boy toy or what?”

Victor failed to notice that Chris was sitting next to him and jumped at the sound of his voice. He turned to see his friend smirking at him and rolled his eyes at this.

“Nothing. There’s nothing going on between me and Yuuri,” answered Victor. “And don’t call him that. It’s weird.”

Chris only continued to smile, moving his arm to rest on the back of the couch.

“Uh-huh. Sure. Nothing at all. So is that why you haven’t been able to keep your eyes off of him? Is that why you’ve been staring at him the entire time? Because there’s nothing going on between the two of you?”

Victor glanced at Chris from the corner of his eye, cheeks now a light pink at the accusation, which only made Chris smirk even more.

“That’s not it. There’s nothing like that going on between us.”

“Mmhmm.”

“But there is something,” he admitted after some time. Victor crossed his arms and leaned back into the couch. His forehead was wrinkled with unknown thoughts. Chris’s frown matched his. He didn’t say anything, silently telling his friend to continue with his train of thought. “He looks familiar.”

“Familiar?”

“Yeah. Familiar. But I don’t know why.”

Victor lost himself to his thoughts again, unknowingly staring at the person on his mind. He was fairly certain that they had never met before, but something about Yuuri seemed familiar to Victor. It was possible that they could’ve seen each other in passing, but no, Victor knew it was more. He knew there was a deeper memory tied to all of this and he had to find it.

Victor hadn’t realized that he had fallen quiet again, but this time, Chris let him be. Instead, he remained seated by his friend’s side and let him run through his thoughts. Chris wasn’t sure what was going on with Victor and Yuuri yet, but he knew it was something important, judging from Victor’s pensive look. He wasted some time tapping away at his phone as Victor remained silent. After enough time was sufficiently wasted, he gently nudged his friend, telling him that whatever mystery he wanted to solve would have to wait. It was time to get back to reality.

* * *

“Welcome to the Host Club!”

“Kyaaaaaaa~!”

The unexpected squeals of the guests caused Yuuri to jump. He knew all of the attention was most likely being directed towards Victor, being the most popular host, but since Phichit had decided to place Yuuri between himself and Victor in the line-up, it felt as if they were all screaming and waving for his attention as well. Yuuri’s anxiety was starting up again and he could hear his heart pounding in his ears. He wondered if the other members could hear how loudly his heart was beating right now. It suddenly felt much warmer in the room. His throat was going dry and he was beginning to feel faint as the room kept spinning and spinning around. His hands tugged at the edge of his jacket, grasping for a hold on something, anything.

_ This is really happening. Oh my god. Oh my god. I don’t know if I can do this. Oh god. Oh god. Oh g- _

Yuuri’s thoughts were cut off by the feeling of someone rubbing soothing circles into his back. His shoulders immediately sagged at the comforting action and he sighed in relief. From his right, he could hear Phichit faintly whisper to him, telling him to breathe and reminding him that it would be alright. He turned to thank his new friend, who smiled at him reassuringly, but that was when Yuuri noticed that Phichit’s hands were clasped in front of him. As if on cue, the hand on his back pulled him slightly closer to the person to his left. Their intention wasn’t to hug him fully, but rather to act as a comforting presence next to him and it worked. Yuuri was shocked given that he and Victor had only just met and it showed on his expression, but Victor said nothing as he gave Yuuri a small smile and nodded, quietly showing his support and putting Yuuri further at ease, before he looked towards the crowd and addressed them.

“Dear guests, as you can see, we have someone special here with us. More specifically, we have a new host starting today.”

The guests all screamed once again at the sight of Victor’s Oscar-worthy smile and the news. Yuuri felt himself pull back at the sound. This time, Victor moved his arm to wrap around Yuuri’s shoulders, pulling him into a one-armed hug. Yuuri stiffened at the sudden shift in contact, but relaxed once he realized Victor was only trying to keep him calm as he hummed a light tune under his breath. The song was one he was familiar with.  _ Oh. Mozart.  _ Seeing how Yuuri wasn’t as tense, Victor gave Yuuri another smile and began to speak again, a hand gesturing towards the patient crowd.

“Why don’t you introduce yourself to everyone?”

Yuuri nodded quickly and faced the crowd. Seeing their gazes, he turned his head away, feeling a familiar warmth in his cheeks. Victor gave him another squeeze in reassurance causing Yuuri to take a deep breath. He turned back towards the crowd, fiddling with his glasses. He raised a hand shyly and waved at them.

“H-hi! Uh. I’m Yuuri! And um, I’m the, uh, I’m the new host here, and um, yeah…Oh! I’m also the natural type, I think. Right? Yeah. I’m the natural type...”

Yuuri let his words trail off and chuckled awkwardly. He was ready to crawl into a hole, until he heard the sound of Victor chuckling in his ears. The light sound startled Yuuri, but Victor’s laughter was infectious and soon, the guests were laughing as well. Yuuri assumed that they were all laughing at him and was going through more regret, until he heard someone in the crowd yell out, “He’s so cute!” which was then followed by the other guests readily agreeing. Yuuri certainly didn’t think much of himself, but hearing that the guests weren’t completely put off by him helped drastically, boosting his confidence.

“Thank you, Yuuri,” said Victor. Yuuri looked to his left to see Victor smiling at him again, pride and gratitude shining in his eyes. Yuuri felt himself smiling back just as brightly before Victor addressed the guests again. “And I thank you all for giving Yuuri a warm welcome. We’re excited to have him with us and we know you are too, so let’s get started. Welcome to the Host Club, dear guests!”

The squeals started up once again, but Yuuri didn’t jump this time. It only filled him with more anticipation. Victor pulled him in once more and he felt the tickle of his breath on his ear as he leaned in to whisper to him.

“You can do this. We’re all here for you.”

Yuuri stared at Victor with wide-eyes as he said this, but his expression quickly turned into one of confidence and gratitude. He can do this. Yuuri nodded firmly, signaling Victor to unwrap his arm and head towards his section. As he walked away, Yuuri felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to see it was Phichit with a wide grin on his face. He didn’t have time to say much since he had already grabbed his laptop from nearby and was checking all of the guests and their appointments, but Yuuri knew what the look meant. He then saw Chris, who gave him his usual wink before heading towards his space. Guests were already waiting for him there. Otabek walked over with Yuri too. The quiet boy gave Yuuri a nod before going to his space, while the younger boy quickly mumbled a “whatever” before running off as well. Yuuri still felt jittery with anxiety, but knowing that not only the other members, but the guests were also supporting him made him feel much better. Yuuri can do this. He’s going to be okay. He can do this.

* * *

“Would like some dee? Oh god. I mean tea! Would you like some tea?!”

Yuuri buried his face in his hands, trying to hide in embarrassment at what he just said. They had only just sat down and he’s already messed up. Good job, Yuuri! Luckily, his first two guests had been chosen personally by Phichit. Knowing that Yuuri was already worried enough, he screened through what he thought would be a good match. Yuuri was thankful for Phichit’s actions because both girls treated him kindly. The two of them laughed lightly, brushing off his slip of the tongue.

“Don’t worry, Yuuri,” giggled Sara. “We knew what you meant.”

“Yeah, don’t worry about it. It happens to all of us, so no need to feel embarrassed,” added Mila. She gently reached over and pulled Yuuri’s hands away from his face, giving him a smile as he blushed about his slip-up. She held his hands for a moment, rubbing small circles onto the back of them. He calmed for a moment, until he saw Sara reaching for the teapot out of the corner of his eye.

“Oh wait! Let me do that!” exclaimed Yuuri, pulling away from Mila. He tried to reach for the teapot, but Sara pulled it just out of his reach. “It’s supposed to be my job.”

“Yuuri,” Mila gave him a faux stern look, giving Sara a chance to pour the tea, “it’s fine. Your job isn’t supposed to serve us, but to entertain us. So relax a bit. Okay? Just talk to us. It’ll be alright.”

With both of them giving him gentle smiles, Yuuri nodded hesitantly, allowing his body to relax slightly. His hands still played with the edge of his jacket though. “Um. Okay. So, uh, I still don’t really know what I’m supposed to be doing, to be honest.”

The girls laughed again and Mila reached over to pat his knee. Yuuri was really grateful for their kindness and patience. He knew that the guests knew it was his first day, but not many people would put up with him like this and he was glad to have them with him today, along with the Host Club members.

“It’s okay. We’re just all here to talk and chat, so we’ll start first. Okay?” said Mila. She sat up straighter and gestured towards herself. “I’m Mila and I’m in my third year here at Ouran.”

“And I’m Sara! I’m also in my third year,” chirped the other girl. They both looked at Yuuri expectantly, waiting for him to introduce himself.

“Oh. Uh. I’m Yuuri. I’m in my second year, but I’m a transfer student, so it’s kinda like my first year at Ouran, really.”

“Oh! That explains why we haven’t seen you around before!” exclaimed Mila. “Well, welcome to Ouran!”

“Thank you,” responded Yuuri sheepishly. He reached up to scratch at the back of his head.

“If you don’t mind me asking, why weren’t you here during your first year?” asked Sara. She looked over at Mila, who shared the same question she did. It was brief, but both of them caught how the corner of Yuuri’s mouth tugged down a bit at the question. It disappeared just as quickly, but they wondered if maybe they should take it back.

“O-oh,” stuttered Yuuri. “Uh. Well, um, I, uh, had something to deal with during my last school year and I, uh, didn’t want to have to take time off at Ouran, so I went to a local high school instead. I wasn’t sure if Ouran would accept me again since I’m here on scholarship and everything.”

Mila and Sara both watched as Yuuri fidgeted throughout his little explanation. It was clear to them that it wasn’t something Yuuri had wanted to fully discuss, but they were grateful for an answer, no matter how vague it was. They weren’t going to pry into his business like that. If he wanted to share, he would.

“Well, no matter what, we’re glad you’re here now!” declared Mila. “Ouran is a great school and if you’re here on scholarship, it must mean you’re a great student as well.” She gave him a wink as she said this, making Yuuri’s cheeks go red.

“W-well, uh, I mean, um, I guess? I mean, kind of, but, uh, not really, but, I just. Oh god.”

The girls’ laughter started up again, but this time, Yuuri found himself joining in with them, knowing that the weren’t laughing out of malice. God, he was a mess, but he had some good people around him. Once their laughter died down, Sara directed the conversation to another topic. This time, Yuuri felt more comfortable, more at ease, and he was able to join in and speak more freely. Soon enough, he fit his given title easily, the conversation flowed more naturally than ever and he found himself with two more friends.

* * *

Enthralled with the conversation, Yuuri failed to notice someone watching him carefully from across the room. Blue eyes remained trained on his expression, watching for any signs of discomfort. At least, that’s what Victor was telling himself. To be honest, Victor knew his current fascination with Yuuri came from the fact that he couldn’t place him in his memories and it was bothering him greatly. He knew there was a connection between the two of them. There had to be and he was going to find it sooner or later.

“Victor, are you listening to me?”

He startled at the sharp voice and took a sip of his tea to hide his expression. He caught sight of Belinda Fairchild staring at him. With her golden waves and blue eyes, she certainly lived up to her name. Her posture kept the poised pose that she always held, back straight, one delicate hand over the other in her lap, legs crossed at the ankles. She would’ve been the ideal image of beauty and grace, if it weren’t for her scrunched up petite nose and the twist in her pink lips. Victor knew she had caught him being distracted and mentally scolded himself for letting that happen. He glanced briefly over at the other guests and could see that they had caught him as well. They weren’t as irritated as Belinda was, but they weren’t entirely happy about the lack of attention either.

_ Better get back to hosting then _ .

Victor set his teacup down on the table and sighed. He gave them all an apologetic look, but looked at Belinda when he spoke.

“My dear guests,” began Victor, “I am sorry for getting distracted there. I didn’t mean to offend you.”

Victor gestured to Yuuri briefly. His expression changed to one of concern.

“As you all know, we have a new host starting today and I was checking to make sure he was doing alright. I couldn’t help, but be worried about how he was doing since it’s his first day and it doesn’t help that the poor boy is a transfer student as well. It must have been difficult adjusting to a new environment and I only wanted to make sure he was okay. Surely, you all understand, yes?”

Immediately, the guests bombarded Victor with empathetic comments and compliments.

“Of course, Victor! We completely understand!”

“Victor, you’re so nice, worrying about a new student like that.”

“I hope he’s doing alright too. He was so shy and I hope he’s doing okay.”

Victor smiled and thanked them all for their understanding. He looked towards Belinda to gauge her reaction. The sour look was still on her face, so Victor reached for one of her hands, clasping it gently between his own as he looked deeply into her eyes.

“Princess Belinda, I truly am sorry for offending you. I hope you understand.”

Victor knew that the other guests were staring intently at him and Belinda now, slightly jealous of the situation she was currently in. Feeling their gazes, Victor watched as Belinda’s scrunched up expression soften into an understanding smile, but Victor could see that it didn’t fully reach her eyes and that her jaw had tightened briefly.

“I suppose I do then, Victor,” Belinda said calmly.

Victor smiled back at her and nodded before pulling away. “Thank you, Princess.”

The rest of their time was uneventful. Victor focused as best as he could on the guests, but he paid closer attention to Belinda for the remainder of the time. Something felt unsettling to him. He could sense her unhappiness and he felt a shiver of worry for Yuuri. From how they were seated, he knew Belinda couldn’t see Yuuri, but if she were able to, Victor knew that she would’ve been sending daggers towards the new boy. He’d have to talk to Phichit about that later. The guests were a priority, but the safety of the other members meant more to him.

* * *

“We thank you for joining us today, dear guests! See you tomorrow!”

The Host Club members were lined up like before and all were bidding the guests farewell for the day, smiles of various degrees on their faces. The guests all squealed with excitement and said their good-byes as well, turning to leave. Victor was smiling and waving like usual, but his eyes were searching for one person: Belinda Fairchild. He found no sign of her in the crowd and he mentally frowned at this. She must have snuck out before anyone else or was hiding herself within the crowd. Either way, Victor was concerned and unconsciously moved closer to Yuuri. As the lasts of the guests finally left, Phichit began to divide clean-up duties between the other club members. The members separated and set out to do their tasks, but Victor quickly pulled Phichit to the side to discuss other matters.

“Hey. What’s up?” asked Phichit.

“We need to talk about Yuuri,” answered Victor in a hushed voice.

“Yeah,” nodded Phichit, “it looked like he was doing fine. I assigned him Mila and Sara today and they’re both good guests, being friends of ours and everything. I don’t think there was anything to worry about there.”

“I know. I was watching,” said Victor. “He was fine and I’m happy about that, but I’m worried.”

“Worried? About what?”

Victor sighed and crossed his arms. His expression was tense. “What do we know about Belinda Fairchild?”

“Belinda Fairchild?” Phichit’s expression now matched Victor’s and he wasn’t happy about that. He made an odd noise in the back of his throat before answering. “She’s a long time guests. She host hops a lot, but she tends to favor you from what I can remember. To be honest, I think the last time I hosted her, she was kept on comparing me to you. Nothing I couldn’t handle, of course, but still mildly irritating.”

“And mildly worrisome,” added Victor.

“I suppose it was,” said Phichit. “She hasn’t done anything too bad though, so why bring this up now, Victor? What does this have to do with Yuuri?”

Victor looked over at Yuuri, who has joyfully laughing at something Chris had just said as the two of them were cleaning up the tables. Phichit followed his gaze and the two could see that he was slowly finding his place with the Host Club. It made Victor feel even more concern for him. He turned back to Phichit.

“I’m worried she’s going to try and do something to Yuuri. I’m not sure what, but I’m worried still.”

Phichit inhaled sharply at Victor’s words. “That explains why she stopped me before leaving.”

Victor raised an eyebrow at this, pushing his vice-president to continue. Phichit shook his head and sighed.

“Belinda reserved Yuuri as her host for tomorrow. She paid for a one-on-one date too. I didn’t think it was odd since she host jumps, but now that you’ve brought this up, I’m concerned too.”

Victor frowned at this. “Can we do something?”

“She’s already reserved him and unless we have a really good reason, it would be hard convincing her of why she can’t have him tomorrow,” said Phichit while shaking his head. “Also, it’s not like we have any definitive proof that she’s planning on doing something.”

Phichit watched the frown on Victor’s face deepen, his unhappiness evident.

“I’m really sorry, Victor. If I had known-”

“Don’t worry, Phichit,” cut in Victor with a wave of his hand. “You didn’t know and it’s okay. It’s not your fault. We’ll just have to be careful tomorrow. Make sure Otabek knows what’s going on since his section is next to Yuuri’s. You and I will be watching, but it doesn’t hurt to have someone else as well.”

“Of course, Victor.”

The two of them nodded, signaling the end of their conversation, and made their way back to the others. Victor noticed Yuuri was just about done with his first task.

“Yuuri!”

Yuuri turned at the sound of his name and saw Victor and Phichit walking towards him. He smiled and gave them both a wave. Victor stopped in front of him, while Phichit continued towards the other members.

“I hope your first day as a host went well.”

Yuuri nodded excitedly and Victor felt himself grin at his enthusiasm. “It did! It went really well. It really wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be.”

“Well, that’s good to hear.” Victor laughed at Yuuri’s comment. He looked around at the other members and saw that they were close to finishing as well. Victor turned to look at Yuuri again. “Yuuri, why don’t you head home early? It’s your first day and you did a good job, so go get some rest. You deserve it.”

“Are you sure? I don’t have much homework today, so I don’t mind helping out.”

Victor gave the boy a soft smile and waved a hand dismissively. “It’s fine, Yuuri. We can handle it.”

Yuuri smiled and nodded at Victor before running off to gather his things. Victor walked over to the other members, helping them with clean-up. Chris shot him another knowing look and he shook his head at that, continuing with his task of gathering the teacups. He was about to grab the last one on the table, when he heard frantic footsteps and heavy breathing.

“Yuuri, what’s wrong?” asked Phichit.

Victor’s head immediately popped up at this. His forehead furrowed in concern when he saw the worried expression on Yuuri’s face.

“I can’t seem to find my things. I thought I left them by one of the couches, but I can’t seem to find them. I checked the kitchen, in case someone moved it, but they weren’t in there either. I really need to find my things since my wallet and keys are with them too.”

Yuuri wringed his hands and frantically looked around the room as he spoke. Seeing the look on his face, Victor and Phichit both shared a knowing look. Victor quickly wrapped up what he was doing and walked over to Yuuri, placing a hand on his shoulder.

“Don’t worry, Yuuri. We’ll help you find your things.”

“But you guys are still busy cleaning up and you all have to go home too,” Yuuri said, shaking his head adamantly. “I can’t bother you with that. I was just wondering if anyone saw it or something. I didn’t want to bother you guys by asking for help.”

He looked down at his feet, still shaking his head. He turned to walk away and continue his search, but stopped when he felt Victor’s hand pulling him back, a soft look on his face.

“It’s okay. You’re not being a bother. We’re going to help you find your things, Yuuri.”

Yuuri stared into his blue eyes, full of honesty and compassion. It was hard for him to understand why someone who hadn’t even known him for a day would be so kind to him and he found himself lost for words, only nodding his head. Victor smiled at this and turned to Phichit, who waved them away dismissively before turning back to the tables.

“We’ll be fine here, Yuuri. Go find your things with Victor.”

“Thank you, Phichit,” said Victor.

“Yeah,” nodded Yuuri. “Thank you.”

“It’s no problem. Now, go find your things already! If they’re not in here, they might be in our classroom.”

* * *

Taking Phichit’s suggestion, Victor and Yuuri headed towards the latter’s classroom. Yuuri was grateful to have Victor with him since his first time navigating the school had ended with him getting lost and breaking a vase worth more than his life. Having Victor around was also good for Yuuri’s mental state since he was constantly reassuring Yuuri that things would be okay as they ran down the hallways. Yuuri reminded himself to thank Victor in some way.

Victor’s positive attitude was also what kept Yuuri going after they found no sign of his things in the classroom. Yuuri was incredibly dejected after this discovery. They tried to retrace his steps, but since he had wandered around half of the school looking for a place to study, they had a long search ahead of them. Yuuri needed all of the support he could get and Victor was more than happy to provide that, but Yuuri’s patience was wearing thin and he was getting tired. He could only imagine how tired Victor was by now and was thankful that he had stuck with him for this long, but Yuuri knew it was time to give up now. Victor hadn’t realized he had stopped walking until he didn’t get an answer to his question. Turning around, Victor saw the tired expression on Yuuri’s face and frowned.

“Yuuri, it’s okay,” he said. He walked back to Yuuri and stood before him, placing a hand on his arm comfortingly. “We’re going to find your things.”

“No, we’re not,” muttered Yuuri. “We’ve searched nearly all of the school. If we haven’t found it by now, it means it’s gone. My things are gone.”

“Yuuri-”

“It’s fine,” interrupted Yuuri. “It’s okay. Don’t worry about it. Thank you for trying to help me though.”

Yuuri tried to force a smile onto his face, but Victor frowned instead. He shook his head. He didn’t want to give up now. He was going to find Yuuri’s things. He said he would and he was going to do it. Yuuri understood what he was trying to say, but he had made his decision. He said a quick good-bye to Victor, who remained silent and unmoving.

Yuuri turned to walk away, leaving Victor behind. He glanced out the window as he walked and caught sight of a fountain in one of the many gardens at Ouran. It was ridiculous how many gardens and fountains this school had. Yuuri wondered how someone would ever be able to tell them apart. He was about to continue on when something shiny in the fountain caught his eye. Yuuri stopped and turned to fully look at the fountain when he noticed that there were other things floating about on the water, books and papers, to be exact, but more specifically, his books and papers. Yuuri gasped when he realized this and ran off, searching for a way to get to the garden below. Victor, who had been watching Yuuri, quickly followed after the boy. He stopped briefly to see what caused Yuuri so much distress and his frown deepened. He didn’t want to believe that it was Belinda who had done this, but at the same time, he had no doubts about it either. He moved his feet quicker in order to catch up to Yuuri.

“Victor, I told you. It’s f-”

“This way!” cut in Victor. He then grabbed Yuuri’s hand and pulled him in the opposite direction, guiding him towards the garden. They arrived shortly and paused near the fountain to catch their breaths. Victor looked away for two seconds, when he suddenly heard splashing. He looked back over to see that Yuuri was already in the fountain, reaching for this things.

_ When did he even roll up his pants? When did he take off his jacket? _

Victor rushed to take off his shoes and roll up his pants as well. He haphazardly threw his jacket next to Yuuri’s and stepped into the fountain, shivering at how cold the water was. Yuuri seemed to have forgotten that Victor was with him and looked up in shock when he heard the splashing. He was about to protest, but Victor anticipated this and cut him off before he could.

“Don’t. I already told you it’s fine, Yuuri. Just let me help you.”

Victor didn’t wait for a response from Yuuri. Instead, he only smiled and continued searching the bottom of the fountain for Yuuri’s lost keys. Yuuri watched as Victor remained focused on the task at hand, gently removing wet pages and setting them on the side of the fountain. He didn’t have to do this. He didn’t have to do any of this at all. But he was. Yuuri smiled to himself and continued searching as well. He definitely owed Victor for this.

* * *

Victor and Yuuri made for an interesting pair as they walked out of the front gates of Ouran. The two had gotten into a minor splash fight after Victor accidentally slipped and fell. Yuuri had tried to help him up, but not before a few giggles had escaped. Victor tried to enact revenge with a quick splash, but then, that grew into a small war. The two of them were now soaked from head to toe, carrying their uniform jackets and shoes, a trail of water dripping behind them.

“I’m sorry we couldn’t save all of your books and papers,” said Victor. He looked at Yuuri with an apologetic expression. He knew this was partially his fault. Yuuri shook his head, disagreeing since he didn’t know about anything that had transpired between Victor and Belinda. The grateful smile on Yuuri’s face made Victor feel even guiltier.

“It’s okay. I can always get new ones. Besides, I got my keys and wallet back and that’s what really mattered anyway.”

Yuuri looked up at Victor.

“Thank you for helping me. You didn’t have to, ya know?”

“I know. I wanted to though.”

Yuuri nodded at this. They walked in silence briefly before Yuuri asked the question that had been on his mind all day.

“Why are you so nice to me?”

“Hm?” Victor raised an eyebrow in confusion.

“Why are you so nice to me?” repeated Yuuri. He stopped walking and Victor did the same, turning to face him. “You and everyone else at the Host Club, you’re all so nice to me. Why?”

“Because you’re our friend,” Victor answered as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

“But you barely know me. I mean, it’s not like anyone here cares about me all that much.” His thoughts trailed off to his soggy books. “Why do you care?”

“Because why not?”

“But-”

“I know it might be hard to believe since you haven’t known us for long, but we all care about you because we like you. It’s as simple as that. Some of us might not show it as well as others, but we care about you, Yuuri.”

Yuuri stared at Victor, letting the words sink in. Victor thought he finally understood, but the words said next made him frown instead. “You’re only saying that because I’m a member of the Host Club now. You wouldn’t be saying that if I hadn’t been forced to join.”

Victor bit his lip anxiously as he thought about his words. He took a breath and sighed.

“Yuuri, please believe me when I say this, but even if you weren’t a member we would all still care about you. We would all still like you.”

“And why should I believe that?”

Yuuri hadn’t meant for his tone to be that sharp, but it really was hard for him to understand why the most popular guys in a prestigious school like Ouran would have any interest in him. He wasn’t worth much. He was just a transfer student who got lucky. He was nothing compared to them. The other students and their treatment of him was more than enough to remind him of that. Victor didn’t say anything, so Yuuri assumed he had nothing more to say. He turned to walk away. He had to get home soon.

“Because everyone deserves a friend. Everyone deserves to have someone on their side.”

Yuuri turned and gave Victor a perplexed look. He hadn’t expected an answer like that. Victor walked and stopped in front of him.

“Life is hard. There’s no need to make it harder. The Host Club knows that and that’s why we chose to help you. We all care and like you because we want to, because we want to be your friend. The whole vase issue was unfortunate and I’m sorry, but we do want to help you. We all know what it’s like to face things alone and we don’t want for you to have to deal with things on your own. We want to be on your side. That’s all.”

Yuuri stared at Victor, taking in everything that he just said. A small voice kept on telling him that Victor was lying. He was only lying to Yuuri and would end up being like the other students. But no, he knew that wasn’t true. He had only known Victor for a day, but he knew Victor wouldn’t lie to him about this. The Host Club really cares about him and only wants to help. They weren’t doing it for their own benefit. They only wanted to help. Looking into Victor’s eyes, Yuuri saw the truth. He only ever saw the truth when it came to Victor and he could feel it in his gut as well. He eventually sighed.

“Okay. Thank you.”

Whether it was the sunlight or not, Victor’s eyes seemed to shine more after Yuuri’s response. He knew the boy was still wary, but he was slowly gaining his trust and it warmed him knowing that he was able to do so. He gave Yuuri a small smile and nodded towards the gate. The two of them began walking again in silence. A car was already waiting for Victor and he was about to get in when he noticed that Yuuri was walking away.

“Yuuri, what are you doing?” he called out.

Yuuri turned around.

“Walking home?” he answered tentatively.

Victor shook his head and waved him over, as if he had a secret to tell. Yuuri’s forehead remained furrowed in confusion as he walked over. “Get in. I’ll give you a lift home.”

“Oh no. Victor, I told you. It’s f-”

“Yuuri, it’s okay.” He gave Yuuri a smile. “Besides, you’re soaking wet. It probably wouldn’t be good if you walked home like this.”

Yuuri opened his mouth to argue, but Victor cut him off with a faux stern look. The expression looked odd on Victor’s face and Yuuri couldn’t help laughing a bit, making Victor laugh too. He thought about rejecting the offer again, but thought back on what Victor had said earlier and got into the car. They arrived at Yuuri’s place shortly after that. Yuuri tried to get out as quickly as possible, not wanting to get any more water on the leather seats, even though Victor had told him it would be fine. He was about to close the car door when he realized he had forgotten something.

“Hey Victor,” said Yuuri, sticking his head back into the car. Victor looked over and he gave him a grateful smile. “Thank you.”

Victor smiled back. “It’s no problem, Yuuri.”

Yuuri nodded and pulled away, closing the car door and running towards the front entrance. Yuuri’s house was much larger than Victor had expected it to be. You’d think his Japanese would’ve gotten better since he moved here, but he was still a bit rusty. He made a mental note to work on it later. It took a moment, but Victor was eventually able to read the sign out front before the chauffeur began driving him home.

_ Yu-topia...Katsuki? _

* * *

Yuuri did his best to get his hand to stop shaking as he set down the teapot, feeling as if those blues eyes were silently judging his every movement. He swallowed nervously and fiddled with his glasses. He was sweating bullets now and must have looked like an absolute nervous wreck, the complete opposite of the perfectly poise Belinda, who simply sat quietly, watching him squirm with every silent second. This definitely wasn’t what Phichit had meant when he said to stay calm and act natural.

Yuuri knew something was different when Phichit apologized the moment in walked into Music Room 3. Yuuri felt mildly flattered when Phichit had informed him that someone had reserved him as their host and had paid extra so that it would only be the two of them, but Yuuri knew not to get too excited. Apparently, the Host Club had impressive records of all of their guests and almost anything you could possibly know about them. According to Phichit, these records were to help him assign guests to hosts and keep track of everyone’s preferences as well, which is how he chose to assign Mila and Sara to Yuuri yesterday. Belinda, however, wasn’t low on the lists of guests Phichit would assign to Yuuri, but she wasn’t exactly at the top of the lists either due to her hosts hopping.

“I mean, I’m sure you’ll be fine,” said Phichit. “Just stay calm and act natural. If anything happens, all of us are around. Don’t worry.”

_ Right. Don’t worry, Yuuri. You’re going to be fine. Just stay calm and act natural. You can do this. _

Belinda watched as Yuuri mentally repeated those words to himself. A pleasant expression was on her face, but like yesterday, it didn’t quite reach her eyes and it was quickly transforming into a look of irritation. Yuuri hadn’t said much else past a quick greeting to her and it made her hate him even more. Belinda soon realized that she would have to be the one to break the silence between them since Yuuri looked like he was about to pass out.  _ Pathetic. _

“Why are you here?”

Yuuri’s heart picked up even more at the sound of her voice. Her voice was soft and light, like the fluttering of wings, perfect for someone of her status. But her tone made it evident that she disliked Yuuri, a terrifying combination when paired with her calm smile. She kept her voice low, making sure that others around them wouldn’t overhear her. Yuuri felt like she had plans to tear his heart out.

“I, uh, I don’t know, I don’t know what you, uh, mean, Bel-”

“Don’t say my name,” she snapped. Yuuri pulled back on instinct, watching her with worry. He noticed that her eyes were the same shade of blue as Victor’s, but unlike his warm ones, her’s were cold and uncaring, looking over him carefully. “I don’t know how someone like  _ you _ managed to do it, but you don’t belong here.”

Yuuri made a small whimper in the back of his throat. It only made Belinda smile even more. She leaned across the table, grasped one of his hands, and pulling him closer to her, making it appear as if they were having an intimate conversation. She leaned in and whispered into his ear, shielding him from the other hosts with her body.

“You don’t belong here,” she repeated. “What makes you think a transfer student like  _ you _ would ever belong at a school like Ouran? What makes you think a lowly scholarship student like  _ you _ worthy of being here? What makes you think trash like  _ you _ would ever be able to stand next to  _ my _ Victor?”

Yuuri was shocked by her hurtful words and remained frozen in shock, his mind shutting down completely. He figured not everyone at Ouran would be as welcoming to him as the Host Club, but he didn’t expect to face this much hostility from one person and only on his second day of classes.

“When I saw you with the Host Club yesterday, scared, nervous, afraid, I knew you weren’t capable of being a host, of being here. You’re pathetic. I thought I could scare you off, thought destroying your things would be enough, but somehow, you have  _ my _ Victor wrapped around your grubby little fingers.”

Yuuri gasped and winced in pain at the feeling of her nails dig into his hand, making small red indents in his skin.

“That’s right,” she continued. “I was the one that threw your stupid crap into the fountain. I was hoping that would be enough to drive you away, but my Victor just  _ had _ to be a hero, helping you get your things, getting himself soaked for your worthless self.”

Belinda’s grip on him grew tighter. Her words leaking out through gritted teeth now.

“You’re not worth his time. You’ve done nothing for him. But I have! I’ve always been there. I’ve always supported him. I’ve always loved him. With our money and status, we could be the greatest, but no! He doesn’t see me at all. All of those sweet whispered words meant  _ everything  _ to me, but it meant  _ nothing _ to him. Instead, he refuses to even look at me. Instead, he looks at  _ you _ .”

“I’m sorry. I’m really sorry. I didn’t meant to. I’m so sorry. Please let go of me.”

Belinda raised an eyebrow as Yuuri’s continued to beg. His whispered words making her grow excited about what was to come. She could hear his heavy breathing in her ear and smirked.

“Well, since you asked so nicely.”

Before Yuuri realized it, Belinda shifted her tight grip to hold Yuuri’s wrist instead. She used his shock to pull him across the table and on top of her, making them both fall to the ground and knock over close to everything on the table in the process. The sound of china breaking caught the attention of everyone in the room. Yuuri was vaguely aware that someone was now screaming and soon figured out that it was coming from beneath him. Looking down, Yuuri and realized that Belinda’s actions had made it appear as if he had tried to assault her, him straddling her, hands on the side of her head as if pinning her to the ground.

_ Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. _

Belinda shoved Yuuri off and he tried to scramble away as quickly as he could. A crowd had formed around them to see what all of the commotion was and he could hear their accusatory whispers already. Yuuri shook his head repeatedly, denying that any of this was his fault.

“I didn’t do it. I’m sorry. I didn’t do it.”

He repeated the words over and over, praying that people would believe him. He felt a hand on his shoulder and jumped at the feeling. It was then that he realized that his glasses had fallen off since he couldn’t clearly see who he was facing now.

“I didn’t do it! I’m sorry! I swear! I didn’t do it!” he cried.

Whoever it was gently wiped away his tears with their sleeve and pulled him into a hug. Yuuri clung to them for dear life as they rocked him back and forth. He then heard Phichit’s familiar voice in his ear and calmed slightly. He felt someone else rubbing circles on his back, but didn’t bother turning around to see who it was, only accepting the soothing action.

“I know, Yuuri. I know. It’s okay. You did nothing wrong.”

“I didn’t do it. I didn’t do it. I’m sorry.”

Meanwhile, Belinda had run off and was now clinging onto Victor’s arm, crying loudly as well. Some of the other guests were looking at her with sympathy, but there were also some that were worrying over Yuuri as well. She wasn’t too happy about that, but as long as Victor saw what she saw, she would be fine.

“Victor!” she sobbed. “H-he grabbed me and attacked me! Y-yuuri tried to force himself on me! I was so scared, Victor! I was so scared!”

Victor stood still, looking down at the sobbing girl on his arm. He had to admit that her crying act was good. If he wasn’t already suspicious of her, he might have fallen for it. But that was also a source of issue for him. He was only suspicious of Belinda. He had no proof. He had nothing he could use to prove that Yuuri hadn’t attacked her and that it had been the other way around. He had been watching as closely as possible between serving guests, but Belinda was smart. He didn’t know if Phichit or Otabek had caught anything either. He frowned at this and look towards Yuuri. He was still crying, while Phichit and Chris were doing their best to comfort him. Yuri might not have looked like he cared as he stood nonchalantly nearby, but Victor knew he did. He then looked at Otabek, who was kneeling in front of Yuuri. Victor thought nothing of it, until he noticed that Otabek was actually holding Yuuri’s hands in his own, turning them over and examining them carefully.

_ They held hands. _

Victor gave a small gasp at the realization before gently pulling Belinda off his arm. His expression changed to one of sympathy and he looked at her lovingly.

“Princess Belinda, you said Yuuri attacked you, correct?”

Belinda’s sobbing increased and Victor fought the urge to roll his eyes.

“Yes,” she sniffled. “He grabbed my hands and pinned me to the ground. It was awful, Victor, just awful.”

Belinda tried to hug Victor again, but he kept their distance by holding her hands, gently rubbing circles into the back of them.

“I see,” said Victor softly. “Then, we should check to make sure your hands are alright, princess. There certainly must be bruising or marks from where Yuuri grabbed you, correct?”

Victor lifted her hands up to examine them and Belinda’s reaction was immediate, desperately trying to pull her hands away without making it too obvious. Her crying stopped and her jaw tightened, but Victor’s grip remained firm on her hands.

“Oh? What’s this?” The sympathetic look from earlier was now cold as he turned her hands over. “There seems to be absolutely nothing on your hands, princess. Your hands are as dainty and unmarked as ever.”

“What?! What are you saying? You saw what he did, Victor! Everyone saw! He attacked me! You all saw! Bruises take some time to form anyway! He did it, Victor! It’s his fault!”

Belinda was trying to keep up her sob story and was looking around for sympathy, but Victor could see that the everyone was starting to see through her lies. He let go of her hands and walked towards Yuuri. He could feel her tugging at his sleeve and brushed it off, hearing her gasp. Otabek scooted over, so that Victor could kneel next to him, in front of Yuuri. Yuuri was crying silently now and Victor reached for one of his hands. Yuuri tried to pull his hand away, but Victor gave him a reassuring look, knowing that he was terrified and telling him that it would be alright. Yuuri recalled Victor’s words from yesterday and nodded, placing his hand in Victor’s. Looking at the little red crescents and scratches on Yuuri’s hands and wrist made Victor frown, but it was the proof that he needed. He turned his head to face Belinda.

“How interesting, princess. Your hands have no marks, but Yuuri’s hands have scratches and small marks all over them, small like your hands. Would you care to explain why that is?”

Everyone was staring at Belinda with skepticism. She was starting to panicking. Victor stood up and glared at her. Belinda stepped back and looked towards the crowd, hoping for someone, anyone to back her up, but it was too late.

“Well! It’s, uh, it’s, um, I, uh, I f-fought back! Yeah! He attacked me and I fought back! That’s what happened, Victor! That’s what happened you all saw it!”

“Really? Because I don’t think that’s what happened. I think you faked all of this. I think you made it seem as if Yuuri attacked you, when that wasn’t the case at all.”

“That’s a lie! It’s all a lie!” she screeched and pointed at Yuuri. “That disgusting rat attacked me! You saw it! He doesn’t even belong here!”

Victor walked up to her and crossed his arms, his eyes as cold and uncaring as ever.

“No. What I saw was you bullying another student and while I might not fully understand what your reasons for harming Yuuri were, Ouran does not tolerate that kind of behavior. Miss Fairchild-”

“Fairchild?!” exclaimed Belinda.

“Miss Fairchild, you are banned from the Host Club. We wish you the best, but we hope to never see you here again.”

Victor turned and walked back towards Yuuri, making sure that he was doing alright. Belinda stood, staring at his back in shock. How could Victor do this to her? How could he deny her like this? After everything that she did for him, this what she got in return! Her hands turned into fists and she stomped her feet like a petulant child.

“No!” Belinda screeched. “No! Why does he get your attention?! Why don’t I get anything?!”

“Please leave, Miss Fairchild. You’ve caused enough trouble for us today,” answered Victor. He hadn’t even bothered to turn around. Belinda wasn’t finished though.

“He doesn’t belong here! God! Just wait until I tell my parents how low Ouran has sunk! They’re practically accepting anyone now! That little worm is pathetic! My parents will have him gone in no time!”

“That’s enough, Miss Fairchild,” Victor snapped. He turned and glared at Belinda. She gasped at his expression and the sharpness in his voice. He had been doing his best to keep calm before, but his patience was wearing thin. He got up and stood before her, once again. This time, she cowered beneath his cold gaze. “You will leave now. The Host Club and its members will no longer be associating itself with you.”

“Victor, can’t you see?! He’s-”

“A brilliant and kind student that deserves none of your hate. Once again, please leave, Miss Fairchild.” Victor leaned in closer, his voice low. “Also, a reminder that although your parents have power, don’t forget who’s my parent.”

Victor continued to look down on Belinda, letting his silent threat linger in the air. He could tell she wanted to fight back, but it was futile at this point. Everyone knew the truth and Belinda realized she had lost. Saying nothing else, she huffed and stomped out of the room, slamming the door behind her, the sound hanging heavy in the room. Taking a breath, Victor addressed the crowd.

“My dear guests, we’re very sorry that you had to witness that today. We hope that it has not caused you too much distress and we hope you understand that we will be closing the Host Club early today, in order to ensure that all of our members are alright. Our vice-president will be in contact with all of you. We apologize once again.”

Mosts of the guests were rattled by the display and left quickly. All of them understood and left without any complaints. Yuuri was surprised by the fact that many of them sent him their well wishes on their way out as well. Once the last guest left, Victor walked over to Yuuri, picking up his forgotten glasses from the ground. The other members had moved him over to one of the couches. He gave a small smile when he saw that Otabek had taken care of Yuuri’s hands, due to the kitten bandages on them. He sat down next to Yuuri and placed a hand on his shoulder.

“Yuuri, are you okay?”

Yuuri sniffled and nodded. “I’m fine. I’m sorry for causing you guys trouble.”

“Oh Yuuri,” said Phichit. “It’s not your fault. You didn’t do anything wrong.”

“But-”

“Yuuri, it wasn’t your fault,” cut in Victor. “No one here blames you for what happened. Okay? So don’t worry about it.”

Yuuri looked at the faces of the Host Club members, all of them giving him gentle looks and nodding in agreeance with Victor. None of them blamed him. Yuuri felt himself wanting to cry again.

“Thank you,” Yuuri finally said. “Thank you for believing me.”

Tears started falling again. Victor pulled Yuuri into a hug, which Phichit and Chris then joined. Yuri resisted for a moment, until Otabek pulled him in as well. All of them said nothing and simply remained embraced. Their message to Yuuri was clear.

_ We’re your friends. _

When they all pulled apart, Victor remembered that he was still holding onto Yuuri’s glasses.

“Oh! Here!” he said. “Let me put these back on you.”

Victor finally took the time to look at Yuuri without his glasses. He found that glasses suited Yuuri just fine, but he liked being able to see his brown eyes, warm, full of love and wonder. He smiled and reached a hand up to push Yuuri’s hair back, but paused after doing so. Victor’s eyes widened in recognition and he froze in place; the memory he had been searching for had been found. Yuuri couldn’t see him clearly, but he could feel Victor’s gaze on him and squirmed slightly.

“Victor, my glasses?”

Victor blinked and came back to his sense.

“Oh. Yeah. Sorry,” he mumbled, placing Yuuri’s glasses back on his face. “There you go, Yuuri.”

Yuuri was confused by the pause, but brushed it from his mind. He smiled at Victor, who then smiled back as well. He looked around the room and caught sight of shattered porcelain and smushed teacakes on the ground. Yuuri scratched at the back of his head awkwardly before patting his knees and getting up.

“I should probably help clean up the mess I caused, shouldn’t I?”

He walked towards his section, but was blocked from going any further by Otabek, who only shook his head. Yuuri turned around to see the other Host Club members giving him peculiar looks.

“Yuuri,” spoke Phichit, “I think you should go home.”

“Yeah, you’ve had a long day,” added Chris. “Go get some rest. We can take care of everything here.”

Yuuri turned to look at Yuri, who only shook his head and then turned away. He turned towards Victor, who walked over to him and gave him a reassuring smile.

“It’s alright. Go home and rest, Yuuri.”

Yuuri nodded. “Thank you, everyone. Thank you again.”

He gathered his things and began walking away. Victor offered to call a car to drive him home, but Yuuri rejected the offer this time, stating that he’d rather walk and give himself some time to think. Victor wasn’t all too happy about it, worried that Belinda might try something again, but the other Host Club members convinced him that Yuuri would be fine and that if anything should happen, Yuuri would be more than capable of calling for help. Once gone, Victor turned towards the members and gave them all a serious look.

“We need to talk.”

“About Belinda?” asked Phichit.

“About Yuuri.”

The members all looked at each other in confusion, all of them not understanding what more there was to say about Yuuri and today’s issue. They looked at Victor, who had his arms crossed now. They all thought today’s drama was done with.

“He’s not who we think he is.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so very much for all of your support!!! :]
> 
> [dangcommaannie.tumblr.com](http://dangcommaannie.tumblr.com)


	3. He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Your friendliness bids me hope to obtain your love.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again! It's weird posting on a Thursday, but whatever. We'll roll with it.  
> I'm still incredibly shocked by the amount of support this story has gotten so far! It's still mind-blowing that so many of you have taken the time to read, kudos, subscribe, and comment on this, so thank you so very much!
> 
> I was hoping to get this up earlier, but I ran into a few bumps along the way. Hopefully, those of you that follow me on tumblr found the little preview amusing.
> 
> Also, you know how the last chapter was 11.4k? This is 12.9k. Welp.
> 
> Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter. My years as a former classical violinist and my years studying Victorian culture, literature, and society certainly came in handy for this chapter. XP

Silence hung heavy in Music Room 3. None of the members knew how to proceed after Victor’s announcement. What did he mean by it? They might have only known Yuuri for two days now, but the thought of their shy and sweet friend being anything, but that? Impossible. No. Absolutely not. It could never happen. Yuuri was Yuuri and that was that. But all of them also knew Victor and he wasn’t the type to tell anything, but the truth. They weren’t sure what to believe really, but all were too afraid to ask. It was Yuri that broke through the silence though.

“I can’t tell if this is a genuinely serious issue or if you’re just being overdramatic again.”

At Yuri’s comment, snickering could be heard coming from all of the members, minus Victor, whose serious expression turned into a childish pout. Yuri smirked at this, making Victor pout even more.

“He  _ does _ make a good point, Victor,” struggled Chris. He was doing his best to hide his smile, like the other members were.

“No! He doesn’t!” whined Victor. “This is a very serious issue, so stop laughing!”

The other members only laughed even more when Victor stomped off to the corner of the room and pouted even more. A dark storm cloud seemed to have mysteriously appeared over him, adding to his dark aura. They all shook their heads. Yuri hit the nail on the head when he assumed Victor was only being overdramatic. They let him be for a moment, used to his overdramatic tendencies, before Phichit looked at Chris with a knowing look. Chris nodded and got Victor out of his corner, leading him back to one of the couches. He remained pouting still. The other members were now seated around him.

“Alright, Victor, explain what’s going on,” said Chris. “What’s up with Yuuri?”

Victor sighed and turned serious once again. “Yuuri isn’t who we think he is. I finally figured out where I recognized him from.”

“Recognize? You knew Yuuri before this?” asked Phichit. He leaned forward in anticipation, hands resting on his knees.

“Yeah,” sighed Victor. He nodded as he said this. “I didn’t realize it at first, but I thought he looked familiar. It wasn’t until now that I finally remembered how I knew him.”

Victor paused, searching for how to best go about this. Like Phichit, the other members moved closer too, wondering what could possibly be the nature of their relationship.

“Yuuri is,” Victor took a breath, pausing for dramatic effect, “a pianist.”

Victor looked at the other Host Club members to see how they were taking the news. All of them were staring at him with confused expressions. They had all expected something much more drastic with how big of a deal Victor had made it. Victor mistook their confusion for them understanding him. He nodded, agreeing with how this news would be shocking.

“I know,” continued Victor. “It surprised me too, but it’s true. Yuuri is-”

“What?!” interrupted Yuri. Everyone jumped at his exclamation and looked towards the younger boy, an irritated expression on his face. He waved his hands around wildly as he spoke. “That’s it?! That’s the big news you had to share?! You made it sound as if Yuuri was some kind of serial killer or something!”

“But Yuri, there’s more-”

“God! I knew he was just being dramatic!”

Yuri got up from the couch and groaned, mumbling about how he couldn’t believe Victor was actually older than he was. Otabek, who had been sitting next to him, grabbed his elbow before he could get any further and guided him back to the couch. Yuri didn’t fight back, but he did pout and grumble the entire time.

“Thank you, Otabek,” said Victor once Yuri was seated again. Otabek nodded in acknowledgement.

“Yes, thank you,” spoke Phichit, “and now that we’re all here again, Victor, explain what you mean. Directly, please.”

Everyone turned to face Victor again. He cleared his throat, starting over.

“Right,” said Victor. “Yuuri, our newest host, our glimmering jewel, is a pianist. Not just any pianist though! Yuuri is an incredible one. I would even say that he’s on a professional level.”

Phichit, Otabek, and Yuri all looked perplexed and shocked by this news. It was certainly a possibility, but it was still strange to learn that their quiet and shy Yuuri was also a talented musician. He had nearly passed out in front of all of the guests on his first day as a host, for goodness sake! It took nearly all of them to reassure him that it would be fine! How was it possible for Yuuri to be able to perform in front of thousands of people with that kind of anxiety? They weren’t dismissing Victor’s claim just yet, but they weren’t sold on it either. Chris, however, was not as confused as the others. Instead, it seemed as if things were slowly coming together for him.

“Does this have anything to do with the Van Cliburn thing?” asked Chris.

Victor nodded. “It does.”

Chris’s eyes widened and he whistled lowly. “You certainly weren’t kidding then, Victor.”

“What the hell is the Van Cliburn thing?” growled Yuri. He was still confused about everything.

“Isn’t that a piano competition?” supplied Phichit.

“It is,” confirmed Victor. “Not just any piano competition though. A big one. An international one. If you compete in the main professional competition and you don’t make it into the top three, but still land within the top six, you walk away with $10,000 cash and a promotional package. Third place will get $15,000 cash, 3 years of individualized career management and concert tours in the US, live recording and recording partnership with a major label, and a promotional package. And if that’s only third place, you can all see how first place in the Van Cliburn Competition is well-sought after.”

“Damn,” mumbled Yuri. “Okay then. That  _ is _ a big deal then. So what? Did Yuuri win it or something?”

“No, only professional pianists can compete for those prizes and that prestige, but there is a junior competition,” answered Victor.

“And you won that a few years ago, didn’t you, Victor?” asked Chris. Being best friends, he was aware of Victor’s musical talents. He didn’t showcase them anymore though.

“I did,” nodded Victor.

“So that’s how you met Yuuri? He competed with you at the competition?” inquired Phichit.

Victor shook his head. “The junior competition is for pianists that are 13 to 17 years of age. I was 13 when I won, so Yuuri didn’t compete then. Since the competition is every four years, Yuuri competed in the most recent one last year. I didn’t go, but I did watch it since it’s webcasted, which is why I know who Yuuri is.”

“Great. Cool. So that’s it then. We’re done. Yuuri is a really good pianist and you two knew each other from a competition,” declared Yuri. “Can I go and do what I need to do now? I want to go home already.”

Yuri tried to get up, but was once again, pulled back by Otabek. The blond boy groaned at this, but remained seated anyway.

“That’s not it. This goes beyond me just telling you about how Yuuri is a pianist,” said Victor. “The issue is that I had no clue who Yuuri was until just now.”

“And?” asked Chris.

“And that’s weird.”

“Victor, your memory starts to deteriorate as you get older. It’s not that surprising,” Yuri commented.

“I told you I’m not that old, Yuri!” huffed Victor. He grumbled to himself, while Phichit scolded Yuri about making fun of Victor’s age. Once both of them were calm, Victor took a breath and continued. “The fact that I didn’t fully remember him isn’t odd. When I saw him perform, Yuuri wasn’t wearing glasses and he had his hair pushed back, so I didn’t recognize him until now. What’s odd is that my father didn’t mention him to me.”

Phichit, Chris, and Otabek remained silent for a moment, but all of them nodded once they understood the peculiar situation. Yuri looked around and realized he was the only one that was confused. Luckily, Chris noticed and filled in the blanks for him.

“You know how Victor’s father is the chairman?”

“Yeah. Why?” asked Yuri.

“That means he’s the one that goes through all of the transfer and scholarship applications, along with the rest of the school board,” continued Chris. “Since getting into Ouran is incredibly difficult without the right connections and money, applicants are going to showcase the best of what they have to offer to Ouran. Yuuri competed in a major international piano competition, which would’ve bumped him up pretty high on the list of applicants, depending on where he placed. Not only that, since Victor competed in the same one, there’s no doubt that Victor’s father would’ve mentioned that to him, in order to learn more about Yuuri through Victor.”

“Exactly,” said Victor. “And since my father didn’t mention him, that means Yuuri didn’t mention that he competed in the Cliburn on his application.”

“But why wouldn’t he do that?” asked Phichit. “You said it was a really prestigious international competition. So even if Yuuri didn’t win and was just able to compete, even at the junior level, means that he must be really good, right?”

“Yes, there is no doubt in my mind that Yuuri is an incredibly talented pianist. If my father had mentioned him to me, I would’ve vouched for him in a heartbeat. I still remember being completely blown away by his performance and that was just from the preliminary round! He risked a lot playing a popular piece for that first round. Most people pick less popular pieces since it means less to be compared to, but Yuuri took the risk and it paid off. He made it his own. He even won a special award for it, for goodness sake! I’m certain everyone thought he would’ve placed.” Victor’s eyes suddenly grew sad and the other members felt the mood drop drastically. They all leaned closer since Victor’s next few words were whispered. “But then something happened.”

The members remained silent, watching Victor momentarily lose himself to his thoughts. He clenched his fists and his forehead furrowed at the memory of Yuuri’s performance. Otabek was the one that asked what was on everyone’s mind.

“What happened to Yuuri?”

Victor sighed and shook his head before answering.

“I don’t know,” he paused, “I really don’t know. Yuuri had made it to the top six, to the semi-finals. I could tell there was something wrong the moment he stepped out on stage. It would’ve been easy to brush it off and say that his nerves had gotten to him, but...I don’t think that’s what happened to him.”

Victor sighed again. His gaze became distant as he recalled the memory.

“Yuuri was doing well until the semi-finals. I had watched the other performances too and yes, he was nervous and anxious then, but it wasn’t like the semi-finals. He only got through a few measures of his performance before he...he just broke down, crying. He ran off stage before anyone could stop him.”

The other members frowned at this. What could’ve possibly happened to Yuuri?

“I tried to contact some of the jury members to see if they knew what had happened since I knew them from when I competed. I tried to figure out what had happened to Yuuri afterwards as well, but no one knew anything. As far as anyone knows the Yuuri that performed that day just disappeared and since he didn’t mention it when applying, it looks like Yuuri is trying to forget about it too.”

The Host Club remained silent. The air was heavy. It was a lot to take in and there were still holes that needed to be filled. They were all concerned about Yuuri as well. Even if they didn’t know what had caused him to break down, it was bad enough to make him want to disappear from the spotlight completely.

“So what do we do now?” asked Yuri.

“We help Yuuri, right? We help him with whatever it is?” asked Phichit.

Chris, Otabek, and Yuri nodded at this. They assumed that this was what Victor’s intention had been the entire time, his whole reason for privately telling them this. They weren’t strangers to Victor and his ridiculous plans to help others, so it made sense that he was planning on doing something big to help out their new friend. But when they looked towards him for confirmation, Victor only gave them a scandalized look.

“What?! No! Of course not!”

Everyone was thoroughly confused now.

“No, no! I didn’t tell you this so we could help him. I told you this so we can never talk about it again.”

“...”

“WHAT?!” screamed Yuri. He jumped up and grabbed the lapel of Victor’s jacket. Victor wasn’t fazed since this was a fairly common occurrence, but Phichit and Otabek did their best to pull Yuri away from Victor anyway. “What the hell do you mean?! You wasted all of our time telling us this long-ass story about Yuuri just to end it by telling us that you want us to never talk about it again?! What the hell, Victor?!”

“Yuri, calm down! Please! I’m sure Victor has a reason for this!” said Phichit. He and Otabek were able to get Yuri seated again, but the blond boy was still clearly irritated. Phichit turned towards Victor. “I mean, I’m assuming you have a reason for this, right?”

“Yes, I do! Don’t worry,” confirmed Victor. “Yuuri is trying to hide all of this for a reason. Whatever happened left a huge impact on him, so I don’t want to offend him by bringing up something that he doesn’t want to bring up. It would be bad if one of us accidentally did that, so I’m telling you all of this now, so we know to avoid it. If Yuuri brings it up himself, then we can talk about it, but for now, not a single word about this. Got it?”

The members all nodded. Seeing as how the conversation was over now, Victor got up to begin cleaning up the room and the other members followed, wanting to head home after the long day that they all had. Nothing more was said on the topic, but it was clear that it would remain on everyone’s minds for awhile.

* * *

You’d think that after a fortnight of being with the Host Club, Yuuri would be used to clothes being shoved in his face the moment he walked through the doors of Music Room 3 and then getting pushed into the changing room without a moment to breathe, but no, that wasn’t the case. It still came as a shock to him every time and it always took him a moment to understand what was happening. When Yuuri was first handed a different outfit and told to change, he immediately panicked about having to pay for it. Luckily, Phichit had informed him that Victor’s mother was a designer and that she was all too happy to supply the different costumes for the Host Club, so Yuuri wouldn’t have to worry about anything there either.

_ I wonder what outfit Victor got for me this time. _

Yuuri looked down at the pile of fabric in his hands before he began changing. He gave a sigh of relief when he realized that there were no animal ears involved in this outfit since the theme for last time was “A Day at the Zoo.” Yuuri unconsciously scratched at his head as he recalled how uncomfortable the red panda ears had been when paired with his glasses, but he had to admit that it was kind of fun and getting to see the others dressed up as animals was pretty funny. He smiled as he recalled the group photo he had of all of them, with Yuri as a cat, Otabek as a bear, Phichit as a hamster, Chris as a kestrel, and Victor as a peacock.

Yuuri pulled out a wing tip collared white shirt from the set of clothes that had been handed to him and began putting that on first. Next, came a pair of light grey trousers and suspenders, followed by a matching light grey waistcoat. The blue-grey cutaway coat matched with the waistcoat and trousers, while being further accentuated by the blue and white striped tie. He was given a pair of black leather oxfords, black socks, and a pocket watch to complete his outfit. Yuuri was grateful that he had become comfortable enough with the Host Club to point out that having a mirror was probably a useful thing to have in the changing room. Looking himself over, Yuuri realized his outfit was of the late Victorian style, so he assumed today’s theme was a Victorian party of some sort. He adjusted his coat and tie one last time before stepping out to see that the other members were already dressed.

Unlike Yuuri, Phichit wasn’t wearing a coat of any kind, leaving the sleeves of his dress shirt bared. He had on black trousers and wore the same wing tip collared white shirt Yuuri had on, but with a black bowtie instead. His vest had a classic herringbone pattern in rust and navy with black satin on the back of it. A silver pocket watch was attached to his waistcoat pocket as well, matching with the metal buttons adorning the garment. Ankle height black leather boots and his usual cheerful smile completed his outfit.

Chris wore a black frock coat with a pair of grey striped pants to go with it. A high stand collared shirt was worn beneath his black cherry colored waistcoat, with a floral jacquard pattern on it. The same jacquard pattern was on the black puff tie around his neck. Chris had on the same black oxfords Yuuri was wearing. His outfit was finally topped off with a silver pocket watch of his own and a charcoal grey John Bull top hat.

Otabek was sporting a black tailcoat with black velvet lapels. He had a double-breasted light brown waistcoat on made of nubby fabric with black satin on the back. A high-collared white shirt was underneath the vest and was topped off with a black paisley ascot. Black trousers and black leather boots made up the bottom half of his outfit. He held a black coachman hat in his hand, the last part of his ensemble.

Like Phichit, Yuri’s outfit lacked a coat as well and he wore the same black trousers and boots, but that was where the similarities ended for them. Instead, he wore a double-breasted grey waistcoat with a high-collared white shirt underneath. A royal blue puff tie was wrapped around his neck. The cut of the waistcoat made it sit higher on the waist, making Yuri seem slimmer than he already was and his legs seem longer.

Victor was wearing a burgundy frock coat that ended at his knees and black trousers. At first glance, his waistcoat appeared to be gold, but upon closer inspection, Yuuri could see that it was a textured fabric in crimson with shades of silver and cold, creating a unique design. The high collar of white shirt had a black cherry puff tie around, accented with a damask design. There was a diamond stud on the tie as well and there was no doubts that it was real. In his white gloved hands, Victor had a cane with a silver head and a black shaft, and in the other, a black top hat.

Yuuri smiled upon seeing the other members and hoped he looked half as good as they did. Victor, Chris, and Phichit all returned his smile, while Otabek nodded in approval and Yuri said nothing. Victor clapped his hands together in front of him and his heart-shaped open smile appeared, making Yuuri grin.

“Yuuri!” called Victor. He skipped over and held Yuuri’s face in his hands. How he managed to do that with the hat and cane was something that no one was able to figure out. “You look perfect! I knew this would be a good color for you!”

After a fortnight with the Host Club, Yuuri had grown closer to all of them and fit in wonderfully. He was closest to Phichit, seeing as how they were both in the same class together and pretty much spend all day together as well. As the vice-president, he was also the person Yuuri talked to whenever he had questions or worries over anything. He was used to Chris and his constant flirting now, knowing that he wasn’t serious about it, but that didn’t keep him from blushing any less when it happened. Otabek didn’t say much, but Yuuri knew he cared since after the Belinda incident, Otabek constantly checked on his hands and changed his bandages, simply stating that infections were bad after Yuuri tried to tell him that it wasn’t needed. Yuri was often grumpy and brash, yelling insults on occasion, but Yuuri knew that underneath all of that was a boy who cared too much and meant nothing by it. He let the boy be, knowing that he had more growing to do and would be fine in the future. Yuuri had grown used to Victor’s eccentric behavior and affection. It was startling at first, but after some reassurance from the other members that this was, in fact, normal behavior for Victor, Yuuri grew used to being greeted daily with hugs and having someone constantly playing with his cheeks.

Victor continued squishing Yuuri’s cheeks, making Yuuri grin even more. He giggled at the action and the other members laughed at this as well. Noticing the time, Phichit pulled the two of them apart.

“Come on, you two,” said Phichit, giving Victor a stern look. “We have guests to prepare for.”

He walked away and headed towards the kitchen to gather all of the tea and food for the day. The other members followed behind him. Chris walked passed and winked at the two of them, but once he was past Yuuri, he turned around and gave Victor a suggestive look. Yuuri blushed and turned away when Chris winked, missing how Victor glared at Chris. Victor then placed a hand on Yuuri’s shoulder and began guiding him towards the others, all of the chatting and laughing casually as they carried on with their duties for the day.

After the Belinda incident, all of the members were worried about how that would negatively affect Yuuri’s popularity as a host and make it harder for him to pay back his debts. But to everyone’s surprise, Yuuri’s popularity rose afterwards and he found himself with even more guests. Rather than assume the worse, many of the guests actually took the time to confirm facts and since Belinda had a habit of host hopping, many of them had encountered her and her jealous tendencies before. The guests soon began requesting Yuuri after the incident to give him their best wishes and reassure him that they knew it wasn’t his fault. Some of them came by only once or twice before returning to their regular hosts, but others became regulars for Yuuri, who then became friends for him as well.

Yuuri was currently pouring some tea for Sara, who quickly became a regular after her first visit with him. The two of them were laughing about a silly mistake that she had made earlier in class. He enjoyed her carefree and supportive nature, and was always happy to see her come in. Sara was usually paired with Mila, the two of them close as can be, but every once in awhile, Mila would decide to spend time with her boyfriend instead, which both Sara and Yuuri understood completely. On those days, Sara was instead accompanied by her twin brother, Michele, who was currently seated next to her on the couch with his arms crossed and brow furrowed. Yuuri was certainly shocked when he found that Michele was nothing like Sara, but he understood his protective tendencies since he had a sister himself, even if he often felt like Mari was the one doing the protecting more than he did. Michele was very protective of Sara at first, not even wanting Yuuri to even breathe in Sara’s direction, but after some time (and, Yuuri assumed, a lecture from Sara), Michele began to understand that Yuuri didn’t have any ill intentions towards his sister and toned down his actions, occasionally joining their conversations as well.

“I still can’t believed I got Leonardo DiCaprio and Leonardo Da Vinci mixed up!” laughed Sara. She clutched at her stomach, letting the laughter run through her, before taking a breath to calm herself. “I was so embarrassed! God! I’m a failure as an Italian!”

Yuuri chuckled and waved his hand dismissively. “Hey. It happens. In your defense, their names  _ are _ pretty similar.”

“I guess,” said Sara, shaking her head, a smile still on her face.

Yuuri then turned to face his newest guest. Guang-Hong wasn’t entirely new to the Host Club. If Yuuri had to guess, he probably started showing up about a week ago and since then he’s been with a different host everyday, which wasn’t uncommon for newcomers who wanted to see what all of their options were first. Yuuri had learned that along with being in the same class as Yuri, Guang-Hong was also a close friend of Phichit’s as well. Despite having only been around each other for a few minutes, Yuuri took an immediate liking to the boy and his shy nature, and the other hosts had commented on how polite Guang-Hong had been when they hosted him as well.

“What about you, Guang-Hong? Anything interesting happen to you today?” asked Yuuri with a smile.

Guang-Hong immediately jumped at being addressed, eyes wide and a light flush on his face that Yuuri had learned was practically permanent at this point. Yuuri smiled as he watched the boy rapidly shake his head back and forth, letting his brown hair wave about.

“Oh no! Nothing really happened to me today! Nothing at all!”

Yuuri and Sara laughed lightly at the younger boy’s quick answer and smiled at him.

“That’s okay,” reassured Yuuri. “We can talk about other things too, like…”

Yuuri paused and looked away, trying to find a suitable topic.

“Like these teacups!” declared Sara, coming to Yuuri’s rescue. She proudly held up the one that she was sipping from. “I’ve been meaning to say that the teacups you guys got for this Victorian tea party is absolutely perfect! All of these are so pretty and delicate!”

“Thank you.”

Yuuri turned his head in surprise when he realized that Guang-Hong had spoken at the same time that he did. The younger boy gave a small smile before giving them a sheepish look and then shyly looking away.

“All of the tea sets today are from my family. It really means a lot to us, knowing that you appreciate the work that we do. Thank you again.”

Guang-Hong smiled brightly and Yuuri looked at him with an incredulous look, momentarily forgetting that he was going to school with students whose family incomes were well into the seven figures and higher range. Sara, of course, was not surprised and chuckled upon seeing Yuuri’s expression.

“Ah! That’s right,” said Sara, a kind smile on her face. “Guang-Hong, your family has been in the china industry for quite some time now, hasn’t it?”

“Mhm!” nodded Guang-Hong, clearly proud. “We actually provide all of the tea sets for the Host Club on a daily basis as well.”

“Really? I never knew that,” mused Yuuri.

“Mhm!” Guang-Hong nodded enthusiastically. “Since Phichit and I are friends, when the Host Club first started up, I immediately offered to help out.” He carefully picked up the teapot and rotated it, showing off the design of ivy, snowdrops, and myrtles. “Everything is hand-painted, so each one is unique from the other. I choose all of the ones for the Host Club myself, but I spent extra time choosing the ones for today, so that they’d match the theme.”

Sara and Yuuri both looked down at the teacups they were holding with newfound appreciation.

“That’s so cool, Guang-Hong!” exclaimed Sara. Yuuri nodded excitedly as well and Sara turned to face her twin with a bright smile. “Don’t you think so, Mickey?”

Michele had been quiet the entire time and was kind of surprised when someone spoke to him, even if it was his sister. He opened his mouth and seemed to be thinking about giving a neutral passing comment since hadn’t been fully invested in the conversation, but upon seeing Guang-Hong’s cheerful expression, Michele faltered slightly and mumbled, “They’re nice.”

Sara and Yuuri both laughed at his reaction, causing Michele to grumble and turn his head away. The light blush of embarrassment was still visible on his face. It was obvious that no one could stand the thought of hurting the sweet boy’s feelings. Glancing out of the corner of his eye, he could see Guang-Hong smiling and silently thanking him.

The group continued talking about other happenings, like the upcoming ball that the Host Club had planned for next week. According to Phichit, they usually had one once a month. Yuuri was nervous about the thought at first since crowds tend to be rather overwhelming for him, but the other members assured him that they would all be there, looking out for him. That reminder calmed his nerves greatly and he voiced his excitement to Sara, Guang-Hong, and Michele, who were all going to be there as well, along with Mila too.

The rest of their time went as it usually did. The end of the day came as well and the Host Club members soon found themselves lined up like like always. They all smiled brightly and waved at the guests.

“We thank you for joining us today, dear guests! See you tomorrow!”

Yuuri was no longer as shocked to hear the sound of the guests all squealing in excitement as they said their farewells to him and the others. Instead, it made brought him joy knowing that he was able to make someone smile today. Once the last of the guests were gone, Yuri immediately ripped off his tie and threw it on the ground.

“Ahhhh! Finally! I hate that stupid thing!” he growled. The other members laughed at this, but Yuri wasn’t done yet. Grumbling still, he stomped over to Victor and grabbed him by the lapels of his coat. “I told you that I hate wearing those things! Why do you keep making me wear them?!”

“But Yuri!” said Victor. He had his hands on Yuri’s face now and was pinching his cheeks. “You look so cute with it on! Like a little Victorian produce dealer!”

“But I don’t want to be cute, dammit! Also, what kind of description is that?!” struggled Yuri. He was doing his best to pry Victor’s hands off of his cheeks, but Victor’s grip remained firm, along with his wide grin. The other members all shook their heads at this and walked over to help Yuri escape from Victor.

“Victor, let Yuri go,” said Phichit. “You know he hates it when you do that.”

“But Phichit! My son is so cute! I can’t help myself!”

“For the last time, I’m not your son, old man!”

“Um. Excuse me…”

The Host Club all froze and turned in the direction of the unfamiliar voice. Victor immediately let go of Yuri’s cheeks and Yuri began rubbing at them. They were met with the sight of Guang-Hong standing in front of one of the couches, fiddling with his hands as he looked down at his feet. All of them gave Guang-Hong curious looks, not understanding why he had stayed after closing.

“Guang-Hong,” spoke Phichit, “not to be rude, but what are you still doing here? We just ended for the day.”

“I, uh, I know. It’s, um, it’s just that,” stuttered Guang-Hong. He took a deep breath and suddenly yelled, “I need your help! Please!”

The Host Club members all look at each other, uncertain of what to do. They all eventually stared at Victor, silently asking their club president what the next course of action should be. Guang-Hong gave him a pleading look of his own before whispering, “Please?”

Victor’s expression became serious immediately. He turned to his vice-president.

“Phichit,” said Victor.

“Yes?”

“Get a pot of tea started! The Host Club has a guest to serve!”

Phichit nodded and immediately ran off to do so. Guang-Hong smiled, knowing that the Host Club were willing to listen to his problem, at the very least. Chris, Otabek, and Yuuri were still rather confused, but were happy to help their new friend. Victor was grinning broadly, excited about the fact that he was going to be able to help someone out. But Yuri? Yuri just muttered quietly to himself.

“God, he’s an idiot.”

* * *

Guang-Hong smiled brightly as Phichit handed him the teacup.

“Thank you, Phichit.”

“No problem! Be careful though. It’s hot.”

The two friends nodded happily at each other. Guang-Hong began blowing on his tea, while Phichit poured cups for the other members as well. He was currently seated on one of the couches with the Host Club seated around him. Yuuri was on his left, leaving room for Phichit on his right. Across from him was Victor. Yuri sat on Victor’s left, while Chris sat on his right. Otabek was seated on the arm of the couch that was next to Yuri. Each of them taking the teacups carefully and thanking Phichit. Once he was done and seated, Victor took a few sips from his before setting it on the table.

“So what is it that you need help with, Guang-Hong?”

The younger boy looked away uncomfortably and began fidgeting with his teacup. Phichit placed a hand comfortingly on his back, while the others all waited patiently. Guang-Hong let out a sigh before answering.

“It’s, um, it’s about, uh, it’s about...Leo.”

Guang-Hong’s voice had been so quiet that everyone had to lean in to hear what he had said.

“Leo?” asked Phichit, being the closest to Guang-Hong. He frowned and assumed the worst. “Why? What happened to Leo?”

Chris raised his hand. “Hold on. Question: Who’s Leo? Because I have no idea who that is and I don’t think Victor or Yuuri know either.”

“Oh. Right,” said Phichit. He scratched at his head awkwardly. “Sorry. Leo is a friend of mine and Guang-Hong’s. He’s an exchange student that’s in his first year here. He’s in the same class as Guang-Hong and Yuri, I believe”

“Ah. I see,” remarked Chris. He reached around Victor and jokingly shoved at Yuri’s arm. The younger boy pouted at this. “Gee, Yuri, why couldn’t you have answered my question?.”

Yuri sneered at Chris and tried to reach for him. Otabek held him back with a hand on his shoulder. “I don’t know who that is, so shut up, Chris. It’s not like you know everyone in your class either.”

Chris shook his head and chuckled at this. “You really need to start being more aware of the people around you, Yuri.”

Victor nudged Chris with his shoulder, giving him a mildly stern look to get him to stop teasing Yuri.

“Whatever,” responded Yuri. He crossed his arms and turned towards his classmate. “So what’s up with this Leo guy? Isn’t he leaving in, like, a few weeks or something?”

Guang-Hong frowned and nodded.

“So how is that our problem? It’s not like we can stop him or anything,” said Yuri. Victor and Phichit both turned and gave Yuri disapproving stares. He quickly mumbled an apology.

“I know,” sighed Guang-Hong. “I know.” He looked up. “It’s just that Leo and I have become really close during his time here and I really like him. He’s become a really good friend of mine, but the thing is, at some point, that changed and I...well…”

“You began liking him more than that,” Yuuri completed.

“Yeah,” nodded Guang-Hong. “I knew we would stay in contact, but...I wanted to let him know how I felt before he left. However, I began getting really worried that maybe he didn’t like me back, maybe he didn’t feel the same way…”

He sighed again. Yuuri placed his hand on his shoulder, giving him an encouraging smile.

“I then thought that if Leo actually didn’t like me, I could maybe get him to like me before he left. That’s when I started showing up at the Host Club. I thought that maybe I could learn how to get him to like me by spending time with each of you and learning from how you all hosted.”

Phichit hummed, understanding the sudden appearance of his friend and the host hopping.

“But that didn’t work out so well. All of you are really good at what you do, so I realized that I was in way over my head if I thought I could try and live up to you guys. I wanted to confess to Leo, hoping that maybe he’d like me for who I am, but after seeing you guys, there was no way he would like someone like me.”

“Guang-Hong, you know that’s not true,” said Phichit.

“But it is!” argued Guang-Hong. “It is! He’d probably like someone more like you guys and now, I’m just...stuck. I really don’t know what to do. Leo is going to leave and he’s never going to know that I like him. Not only that, I’m not good enough for him anyway and, and, and-”

Guang-Hong covered his face and his hands, while Phichit pulled him into a hug, whispering softly to him. The members all looked at the boy with sympathy, understanding his struggles and worries. Victor had a serious expression on his face during the entire story while Yuuri rubbed circles onto Guang-Hong’s back.

“You know,” began Yuuri, “I’m sure if you just-”

“Let the Host Club members train you themselves!”

Everyone turned to stare at Victor with shock and confusion. He hadn’t spoken since they had sat down, so his outburst, along with the fact that he was now standing and staring off into the distance with a determined look, was incredibly odd for all of them. The image was even more strange since none of them had had the chance to change out of their costumes yet.

“Um, no,” continued Yuuri. He raised an eyebrow at Victor’s action, before turning back to Guang-Hong. “Like I was saying, if you just be-”

“The ultimate host by learning from all of us, Leo will surely like you back!”

“That’s not what I’m trying to-”

“Yuuri’s right, Guang-Hong!” declared Victor. He suddenly pointed at the boy, causing him to pull back in shock. “Starting today, you’ll begin your training with each of the Host Club members! By the time of the Host Club ball, using all of the skills that you’ve learned, you will confess your love to Leo!”

Victor began shouting orders to the other members, planning out his new hosting curriculum for Guang-Hong. Yuuri looked to see if the other members were as confused as he was, but to his surprise all of them simply nodded at Victor’s words.  _ Do any of them realize how ridiculous this plan is? _ Chris noticed how lost the newest host was and patted his head.

“Don’t worry. Victor is always like this. Just roll with it and once the plan falls through, it’ll be fine.”

“So we’re just going to let him do this?”

“Yup.”

Yuuri tried to find some form of open understanding from any of the other Host Club members, but found none. If any of them had something to say, they weren’t going to bother since this was, for some reason, a common occurrence in the Host Club. Guang-Hong didn’t even seem to put up a fight either since the other members were going along with the plan. For once, Yuuri had never felt more connected to Yuri.

_ God, he’s an idiot. _

* * *

**Operation Blossom: Training Day 01**

“Operation Blossom? What kind of stupid name is  _ that _ ?” asked Yuri. The blond boy had learned to stop fighting when it came to Victor and his ridiculous plans since once Victor had one, it would be carried through until the very end. However, that didn’t mean that he didn’t think it was stupid and it certainly didn’t stop him from making comments on it whenever it could.

“What’s wrong with the name? It’s perfect!” cried Victor. “Our precious blossom, Guang-Hong, will get the strength that he needs from each of us and will eventually bloom into a beautiful and radiant flower that Leo will never be able to resist! It’s perfect, Yuri!”

“Yeah. Perfectly stupid,” Yuri scoffed. The boy crossed his arms and smirked, making Victor frown and narrow his eyes.

“I think someone’s just angry because I’m making them go first.”

Victor walked over and grabbed Yuri’s arm, dragging him over to the couch where Guang-Hong was waiting with Phichit. Yuri struggled to get his arm free and tried to grab onto Otabek, who was nearby, but Otabek simply casually pulled his hands off, letting him be pulled away by Victor.

“Otabek, how could you?!” screamed Yuri. Otabek only shrugged in response. Yuri turned to face Victor, who was still dragging him along. “And you! You never told me I was going first, old man!”

“I did, but it’s not my fault you weren’t listening, Yura,” sang Victor, amused by the younger boy’s actions. They finally reached the couch and Victor sat down with Yuri, across from Guang-Hong and Phichit. He huffed and tried to get back up, but Victor kept him seated. In the background, Yuuri, Chris, and Otabek were all watching the scene amusedly.

“But why don’t you go first then? Wouldn’t it be better for him to learn your stupid prince crap first?”

Victor laughed, thinking the notion to be ridiculous. “Of course not! We have to work our way up to that! We can’t overwhelm Guang-Hong on the first day, so we’re starting with you first. Now, go! Show him what to do, son!”

“For the last time, I’m not your son!” growled Yuri. He frowned and moved to the other side of the couch, away from Victor’s reach.  _ This is so stupid.  _ Yuri continued to mumble and complain under his breath. He looked towards his classmate across from him, taking in the sight of his pleading eyes. Yuri knew this wouldn’t work out anyway, but he couldn’t seem to bring himself to say no to the boy. Sighing, he turned to face him fully. “Fine. What do you want to know?”

Guang-Hong and Victor both lit up at this. Phichit smiled and shook his head since he knew Yuri would eventually help out anyway. Catching Victor’s smile out of the corner of his eye, Yuri turned and glared. “I’m not doing this for you, old man!” He turned back to Guang-Hong. “So yeah, what do you want to know?”

“Uhh…”

“Just tell him what you do as a host everyday, Yuri,” helped Phichit.

“I don’t do anything as a host though.”

“Yes, you do, Yuri. Now, explain to Guang-Hong what you do,” continued Phichit.

“But I really don’t do anything as a host!”

“What?”

Phichit, Guang-Hong, and Victor shared perplexed looks.

“I don’t do anything as a host,” shrugged Yuri. “I’m the pretty type, so all I do is sit here and eat and drink whatever it is we have for the day. The guests just comment on how pretty I am and I nod. That’s it. I’m sure you can do that. It’ll be easy for you, Guang-Hong.”

Phichit frowned at this. “Yuri, you’re supposed to be entertaining guests. You know that, right?”

He shrugged again. “Don’t know. Don’t care. It’s not like this is my fault anyway since it was Victor who assigned me this role.”

Phichit turned and gave Victor an accusatory stare. The club president gave a sheepish chuckle and put his hands up as a sign of his innocence. “I just thought that would be the best role for him, ya know? I mean, Yuri’s pretty and I thought it would be a good thing to have in the Host Club?”

Phichit sighed and rolled his eyes. He rubbed at his temples and gave another sigh before turning to face his friend. “Alright. Guang-Hong, I think you can go home for the day.” He turned to look at Victor. “It looks like I need to have a meeting with  _ someone _ about what we’re supposed to be doing.”

“Ehehehe…”

* * *

**Operation Blossom: Training Day 02**

“...”

“...”

“...”

“...”

Phichit looked back and forth between Otabek and Guang-Hong. Neither of them had said a single word within the last five minutes, both just staring at the other. The most interaction that had occurred between the two of them besides that was when Otabek poured the tea and pushed the plate of cookies over for Guang-Hong.

“Otabek, you’re supposed to be teaching Guang-Hong how to host,” whispered Phichit.

“I am.”

“No, you’re not. All you’ve done is sit there silently and look cool with your feet up.”

“Phichit, I’m the silent and cool type.”

Phichit sighed and nodded. From behind him, he could hear snickering coming from the other members. The vice-president was usually incredibly patient and always cheerful, so it was an interesting sight to see him irritated with Victor’s plan already. Guang-Hong patted his shoulder and gave him a reassuring smile, silently telling him that it was okay..

“You still need to, at least, try and explain what you’re doing.”

Otabek hummed and nodded, contemplating Phichit’s words. He took his feet off of the table, straightened, and looked directly at Guang-Hong. Guang-Hong straightened up as well, ready to learn.

“You don’t have to say anything. Just look cool.”

More laughter could be heard from behind Phichit. Guang-Hong was giggling now at Otabek’s serious words too. Phichit shook his head and gave an exasperated sigh.

“Well then!” exclaimed Phichit, trying to lift his spirits with a smile. “Let’s try this again tomorrow.”

* * *

**Operation Blossom: Training Day 03**

“Alright! Yuuri is our newest host, but I can assure you that he’s a great host and has much to teach you.”

Phichit smiled and gestured towards Yuuri, who was seated across from him and Guang-Hong. Yuuri smiled shyly back and scratched the back of his head, chuckling lightly.

“Oh! Uh, I wouldn’t, um, I wouldn’t say great, but I’ll do my best to help you out, Guang-Hong. Don’t you worry about that.”

“Thank you, Yuuri,” nodded Guang-Hong.

“Oh, no problem,” said Yuuri. He took a sip of tea to clear his throat before continuing. “So I’m the natural type and basically, I’m just...me.”

“You?” Guang-Hong tilted his head as he asked.

“Yeah. Well, I mean, I’m me when I host, so that means you should be you when you talk to Leo. Be yourself is what I’m trying to say.”

“Oh. I see.” The younger boy nodded at this.

“Mm,” nodded Yuuri. “I know you’re worried about Leo not liking you, but he should like you for you and the only way to know if he does is if you’re you. You can’t pretend to be someone else. You just have to be you, Guang-Hong.”

“No!”

The unexpected outburst made Yuuri’s smile drop. He turned to see Victor standing behind him, looking down seriously at him and Guang-Hong. “Victor, what do you m-”

“Being yourself is fine, but Guang-Hong is trying to win Leo’s heart. He can still be himself, but he just needs to be a better version of himself, which is why we’re helping him!”

“I understand what you’re trying to say, but I really think that being himself is going to be a better plan, Victor.”

Victor’s hands immediately squished Yuuri’s cheeks, making Yuuri give a small squeak at the unexpected action. Victor gave him a small smile and looked as if he were about to speak to a child, which made Yuuri frown even more. It was clear that he was just going to ignore everything Yuuri had said.

“Yuuri, my sweet Yuuri, one day, you’ll understand.”

Victor squished Yuuri’s cheeks some more and Yuuri grew more frustrated by the second. He was finally released from Victor’s hands when Victor decided to walk away. 

“We’ll try again tomorrow, everyone!”

Yuuri rubbed at his cheeks and made brief eye contact with Yuri. A silent understanding was formed between them. He looked over at Phichit, who gave him a sympathetic look.

“I know. I know.”

* * *

**Operation Blossom: Training Day 04**

“Um, where’s Phichit?”

“Uh...He’s actually sick today.” Yuuri awkwardly looked away. “Sorry for having you come here for nothing. We thought Phichit might have called you to let you know, but yeah, he’s sick and couldn’t be here today.”

“Oh. Okay,” nodded Guang-Hong. “So…”

“It was actually his day to teach you, but since he’s not here...we’ll see you tomorrow?”

* * *

**Operation Blossom: Training Day 05**

“First things first! We got to strip!”

“W-what?!”

“Chris! No!” shouted Phichit.

Chris already had his tie and uniform jacket off. He was working on the buttons of his shirt and getting his belt off as Phichit tried to keep him covered. The usual light blush on Guang-Hong’s cheeks had become a bright red.

“Why? I’m just trying to teach Guang-Hong.”

Chris ignored Phichit’s protests and threw his shirt over his shoulder. From the disgusted sound that Yuri made, Phichit assumed that it had landed on or near him.

“Not like this!” cried Phichit.

“A-are we sure this is okay? This is getting kind of R-rated. Oh my god…” Guang-Hong looked like a mix between horror, scandalization, and fascination, torn between hiding his face in his hands and staring intently.

“I’m so sorry about this! Please give me a moment to fix this!”

Phichit had somehow managed to keep Chris from taking his pants off, but then Victor decided to make his life even more difficult.

“Victor! Don’t you dare strip too!”

“Chris! Here I come~!”

“Victor! No! Stop!”

* * *

**Operation Blossom: Training Day 06**

“Finally! The moment you’ve all been waiting for! Me! Victor! Your prince!”

“Please get down from the table, Victor.”

Victor looked down from where he was standing to see Phichit staring at him sternly, arms crossed. Guang-Hong and the other members laughed at this and shook their heads, but Victor didn’t seem to notice at all. He stepped down from his place on the table and sat down on the couch across from Guang-Hong and Phichit. He suddenly reached over and grabbed Guang-Hong’s hands. He held them and peered softly into his eyes

“Guang-Hong, are you ready?”

“Y-yes?” whispered Guang-Hong.

“Are you sure? Are you really ready to do whatever it takes to win Leo’s heart?”

“Oh. Um. Yes, please.”

“Good.” Victor stood up suddenly, pulling Guang-Hong up with him. He then rolled out a giant board. At the top, “Victor’s Simple 100-Step Plan for Becoming a Perfect Princely Host” decorated the top in fancy calligraphy writing. Beneath that was a massive diagram made up of multicolored arrows, terrible drawings, giant speech bubbles, and a lifetime's worth of glitter. Victor then pulled out a laser pointer and began gesturing towards the board, leaving Guang-Hong next to him, staring curiously with his head tilted.

“We start with the first step! First, you must always remember that your guests are a priority. One must  _ always _ make sure that your guests are happy. If you’re guests aren’t happy, then you aren’t happy. Second, remember yourself a well. We love our guests dearly, but it’s important to take care of yourself as well. If you’re not comfortable in a situation, don’t do it. Third, as Shakespeare said, “Reputation, reputation, reputation!” Your reputation as a host will influence a guests mind, so don’t get discouraged when someone comes in and has a different idea of you. It is  _ your job _ to change their idea of you to fit what you want or reaffirm the idea that they already have in mind. It is important to always keep a positive reputation. I’ve drawn a convenient diagram for you here, which shows how one negative idea of you can quickly spread and cause drastic damage to your reputation. Study it well. It’ll be on the exam. Fourth, your smile is the most important part of your outfit. A prince is meant to look and dress nicely, but he is nothing without his smile. Always be smiling when with and around your guests. Remember to make sure that your smiles are genuine. Your guests can tell if you’re faking it and we certainly don’t want that. A host must always be true and honest, so practice your smiles! Okay? Practice, practice, practice! I’ve made a convenient video for you to watch and I’ve already emailed it to you. Please watch and study that as well because it will be on the exam too. Fifth, every guests is royalty and will be treated as such. There is not a single guests that you meet that won’t warrant being treated like royalty. Everyone is a shining, sparkling jewel and will be treated with fragility and reverence. Treat them all kindly with respect and remember to always praise them because they deserve it. Everyone is to be referred to as “prince,” “princess,” or “your highness” because you must also be mindful of everyone’s preferred pronouns as well. Sixth, learn everyone’s names. Your guests will surely remember you, so it’s important that you remember them as well. Your reputation will also increase if you remember everyone’s names. It can be a hard skill to develop, but with time, you will learn to remember everyone! Seventh, learn everyone’s-”

“Victor, Guang-Hong’s gone and no one else is here to listen to you either.”

Victor turned to find that Guang-Hong was indeed no longer next to him. Turning around further, he found no sign of the other members, minus Phichit, who was staring at him with a bored expression.

“What? Gone? Why? Where’d he go? And where’s everyone else?” He gestured to his board. “I still have the rest of this to go through! This is important, Phichit! How else will he learn?!”

Phichit crossed his arms and sighed. “I said he could go after I realized you were about to give him a three-day lecture. The others left shortly after.”

Victor scoffed. “It is  _ not _ a three-day lecture! This is a five-day lec-”

He paused realizing what he was about to say. Phichit only shook his head and walked away. His point was already made.

* * *

**Operation Blossom: The First Host Club Ball**

“Thank you for all of your help, everyone.”

Guang-Hong smiled kindly at all of the Host Club members. He had stopped by a few hours before the ball began to give his thanks to the Host Club and also double check the chinaware for the evening. Guilt was strong amongst the Host Club for they knew they had done little to help out their friend.

“But obviously, I’m a lost cause.”

Guang-Hong’s eyes grew sad and he looked down at his feet, fiddling with this hands. Phichit walked over and hugged his friend.

“It’s not your fault. We’re sorry we failed you. We were supposed to help you and we didn’t. We’re really sorry, Guang-Hong.”

The younger boy shook his head, denying the statement. “It’s not your fault either, so don’t worry.”

“But Guang-Hong, it’s-”

“Thank you again,” said Guang-Hong. He pulled away from Phichit. “You did your best, so thank you.”

“Guang-Hong…”

“It’s fine. It’s okay,” mumbled the boy. “Everything looks good, so I’ve got to get going anyway. Um. I need to go get ready and I’ll be back later with, uh,  Leo and...I’ll see ya…”

The Host Club all watched as Guang-Hong quickly turned and ran out of the large ballroom they had reserved. All of them looked at each other, hearts heavy and disappointed with how things had turned out. It was heartbreaking to know that they weren’t able to do better, but that’s just how things were sometimes.

“So...that’s it for Operation Blossom then?” asked Yuri.

Phichit sighed and nodded. “Yeah.”

“Oh...okay then.”

Phichit turned around away from the doors and headed towards where the rest of the ball preparations were happening. “Come on, you guys. Cheer up! There’s still much to do before the ball begins!”

The other members nodded and followed along. All of them could hear how forced Phichit’s words were, but none of them pointed it out. The vice-president quickly assigned tasks to each of them and they were about to go their separate ways, when they realized that Victor was still standing in the same place, staring intently at the door.

“Victor?” called Phichit. “Come on. We have to get ready, remember? Lots to do still and I need your help.”

Phichit walked over to where the president was and placed a hand on his shoulder. He could see the intensity in Victor’s gaze and knew that he was most frustrated with himself, no doubt he was mentally going over everything he could’ve done differently to fix this. Phichit gave him a small smile.

“Come on, Victor. We have a ball to put on.”

Victor nodded in acknowledgement and Phichit turned to walk away, but was stopped suddenly.

“No.”

“No?”

“No!” declared Victor. He turned to face the rest of the members, all of them not understanding his outburst. Determination filled his eyes as he stared at all of them. “Operation Blossom is NOT done yet! Operation Blossom is moving into phase two!”

“Phase two?”

Victor chuckled at this and then smirked. “I’m glad you asked.” He then pointed suddenly, nearly hitting Phichit in the process.

“Yuri!”

Yuri wildly looked around, hoping that maybe Victor had meant Yuuri instead of him, but since he was on the other side of the room, it was obvious that Victor was referring to him. Everyone was now curiously looking between him and Victor, but he was just as lost as they were. He didn’t know what phase two meant, but if Victor was involved, he wasn’t looking forward to it.

“Oh no…”

* * *

“Victor, I hate you, you old man! I’m not wearing that thing! You can’t make me!”

“But my son! Please! I thought you wanted to help Guang-Hong and Leo too! Don’t you want to help your classmates, Yura? Please?”

“This is stupid and you know it, old man! I’m not wearing it! Ow! Stop pulling!”

Phichit, Chris, Otabek, and Yuuri all waited patiently for Victor and Yuri to finish up in the changing room. All of them had already changed into their outfits for the ball, while waiting. According to Victor, phase two of Operation Blossom involved Yuri wearing a dress for some reason that none of them knew the answer to yet since Victor didn’t want to spoil his great plan just yet. The sound of struggling continued to flow out of the changing room, but no one could tell who was who anymore. All of them were very worried. Victor finally emerged from the changing room with a proud smile on his face, wiping imaginary dust off of his hands. They waited for Yuri to follow after, but there was no sign of him. Victor huffed at this and went back in, pulling a struggling Yuri with him.

“Stop it! Let me go! I don’t want to be seen wearing this! Put me down!”

At Yuri’s command, Victor unceremoniously dropped him, making the scowl on his face grow even more. Now out in the open, the other members could see that Yuri was dressed in a puffy light blue ball gown.

“No one say anything!” growled Yuri. He hadn’t bothered getting up from the floor and remained seated there, arms crossed like a petulant child. Victor stood behind him with a wide grin, hands clutched over his heart.

“But Yuri! You look so cute! Like a grumpy little Cinderella!”

Victor continued to coo over how adorable Yuri was. The other members were all struggling to hide their laughter.

“Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!” Yuri yelled at the Host Club. He then turned to face Victor. “You better have a damn good reason for why I have to wear this stupid thing, old man!”

“Of course, Yuri! Of course!”

Victor waved a hand dismissively. He then turned and addressed the other club members.

“So!” declared Victor. “Phase two of Operation Blossom! We’re going to have Yuri here dressed up as one of Leo’s admirers. Then, he’s going to confront Leo in one of the empty rooms and “confess” to him. Meanwhile, one of you will bring Guang-Hong to the same room, so that he can catch the moment where he hears Leo reject his admirer because he likes someone else aka Guang-Hong. Once they both realize that they like each other, they’ll confess and live happily ever after! Hurray!”

Victor smiled happily, arms thrown up into the air as if he had just won a lifetime supply of hairstyling products. The Host Club all stared at him, perplexed. There were many holes in this plan and it was astonishing how could’ve done that. Yuuri raised a hand to hesitantly ask a question.

“So...how is Yuri going to confess? Wouldn’t it be possible that Leo recognizes his voice since their classmates? Also, Yuri doesn’t exactly sound like a girl either, so there’s that.”

Victor’s smile faltered slightly as the other members nodded, agreeing with Yuuri’s point.

“Also,” cut in Chris, “even if he doesn’t realize that Yuri isn’t a girl from his voice, they’re still classmates. He’s going to recognize Yuri’s face, at least.”

“Uh…”

“Oh!” interrupted Phichit. “But what if Guang-Hong misunderstands what’s happening? What if when we bring him there, he thinks Leo likes someone else besides him?”

“Look. I know-”

“Timing too,” said Otabek bluntly. All of them nodded in understanding.

Victor tried to get their attention again, but all of them were lost in their own side of things now. Yuri was now laughing at Victor and his ridiculous plan, happy to know that there was no way he’d have to wear this dress for much longer since this plan was likely to fall through. Growing more frustrated, Victor huffed and stomped his feet.

“Fine!” he shouted. The members all turned the sharpness in his voice. “My plan isn’t the best, but it’s a plan. It’s not like any of you have something!”

“Uh, actually,” said Yuuri awkwardly, “I kind of do.”

The Host Club all stared at Yuuri intently, wondering what he could’ve come up with.

“What if Guang-Hong just tells Leo that he likes him?” suggested Yuuri. “I don’t know much about Leo, but from what Guang-Hong and Phichit have said, it sounds as if he might have some feelings for Guang-Hong too. Guang-Hong sounds like he just needs some support, so if we all reassure him that it’ll be fine and that Leo probably likes him too, I’m sure he’ll be able to do it.”

Minus Victor, the Host Club all seemed on board with Yuuri’s simple plan. They knew both of them were already going to be at the ball and it would be easy enough to get the two of them out and into a private place to discuss what was going on. It was a direct and straightforward plan, unlike Victor’s. The members supported Yuuri’s plan and he was thankful for that, worried that his plan might have been too simple. He looked up at Victor, who, to his surprise, was smiling happily.

“That sounds like a good plan, Yuuri,” said Victor. The members all sighed in relief. “But!”

Their smiles all dropped, but Victor’s grin remained. They knew it was too good to be true.

“It sounds like a boring plan, so we’re going with mine instead because I’m the president and Yuri already had to wear the dress and it would be a waste if he didn’t have to wear it! Okay?”

Victor began to skip away to wherever, dragging Yuri behind him. The blond boy tried his hardest to resist, screaming about how he wanted to go with Yuuri’s plan instead, but Victor heard none of it, only continuing forward, leaving the others to stare after them.

“This is going to end up disastrous, isn’t it?”

“Yeah.”

* * *

“Welcome to the First Host Club Ball, dear guests!”

Victor’s announcement was met with various squeals as usual. The Host Club all stood lined up on the balcony overlooking the ballroom floor, smiling and waving at all of the guests below them. They appeared happy and charming, but all of them were anxious about the outcome of how Victor’s plan would go tonight. The hosts separated and began walking down the double staircase, Chris, Phichit, and Yuuri on one side, while Victor, Otabek, and Yuri went down the other. They were all immediately swarmed by guests asking each of them to save them a dance that evening.

Yuuri had never been to anything this extravagant and grand before, and took a moment to take in everything. He had helped Phichit set up and oversee some things earlier, but he hadn’t had the chance to see the ballroom fully decorated and filled with people until now. A sparkling chandelier hung over the marble floor of the ballroom. Long tables were lined up along the sides of the room, filled with a cornucopia of hors d’oeuvres and sweets and drinks for all of the guests, but many waiters walked around with serving trays as well. Yuuri could spot a massive ice sculpture carved to look like two swans on one side of the room, while the other side had a small orchestra providing the music for the evening. The guests were all made up finely, as to be expected of students from Ouran, but that didn’t mean Yuuri was any less speechless when he saw all of them. With so many sights and sounds and peoples around him, they were beginning to overwhelm the transfer student and he could feel the familiar weight of anxiety pulling on him, heavy on his mind. Just as his breathing was starting to shallow, he felt a familiar hand on his back.

“You alright?” asked Phichit.

Yuuri nodded.

“That’s good to hear. Mingle around and host for a bit. I’ll be back to get you shortly and then we can find Yuri.”

Phichit smiled at him and Yuuri was about to respond when Phichit was suddenly pulled away by one of his regular guests, who he had promised to dance with earlier. Yuuri laughed lightly at this before being pulled into a dance of his own by one of his regulars. He had been worried about stepping on a few toes since he lacked any form of dance experience, but luckily, none of the guests seemed to care, simply enjoying their time with him. Yuuri shared a few more dances with others, twirling and laughing with Sara and Mila too, and even dancing with a less than happy Michele after being forced to by Sara. For a moment, Yuuri had forgotten about the plans, until Phichit came over and pulled him away, stating that there was a minor Host Club issue that needed to be discussed. They then quickly found Yuri and dragged him away from the rest of the festivities.

Victor’s plan had been changed to fill the holes that had been left before. He had tasked Phichit and Yuuri with helping get Yuri into the dress, while the others kept the guests entertained to keep suspicion levels low. Otabek would then switch out with them, helping Yuri get to the room where Leo would meet with him. Leo would be led to the room and told that someone was waiting for him by Yuuri. Once together, Victor planned for the room to be dimly lit, to add to the ambiance, but to also cover up the possibility of Leo recognizing Yuri. Instead of giving a verbal confession, Victor had written a brief note for Yuri to hand to Leo instead. Otabek would be hidden in the room and would then text Phichit the signal to bring Guang-Hong in. Once Guang-Hong happens to overhear Leo rejecting Yuri, they would both end up together and that would be that!

Or at least, that’s how Victor hoped it would go.

Phichit and Yuuri were able to get Yuri to wear the dress again. There was some struggling that occurred, but Yuri followed along shortly after getting his anger out. The switch off with Otabek and getting Yuri to the room went smoothly, and the room was lit just enough so you could make out the bare profile of Yuri’s face by the window, but not the sight of Otabek standing in the back corner. Yuuri was worried about convincing Leo to come with him, but to his surprise, the boy followed along easily, not asking any questions about why and who might be waiting for him. Otabek sent the text to Phichit once Leo was in the room and Yuri was about to hand him the note. As Leo read over it, Guang-Hong readily followed Phichit towards the room as well. Things were going surprisingly smooth and they all thought that maybe Victor’s plan was actually going to work, until Phichit opened the door for Guang-Hong.

It took longer than they thought for Leo to read through Yuri’s confession and process what was happening, so when Guang-Hong looked in, instead of catching Leo reject Yuri, he caught Leo staring intently at an unknown girl in a dark room. It was easy to see how he assumed the worse. Leo turned, shocked, when he heard the sound of the door opening and saw his friend standing there with a hurt expression.

“Guang-Hong? Wait. This isn’t-”

“I’m sorry.”

Before Leo could get any more words out, Guang-Hong was already running away, searching for a place to hide and cry. He could already feel the tears threatening to spill. He knew Leo couldn’t have possibly liked him as more than a friend. He knew that and got his hopes up for nothing. He could faintly register the sound of footsteps behind him assuming that it was Phichit.

“Phichit, it’s fine!” Guang-Hong cried. “Just leave me alone!”

This didn’t deter whoever it was behind him and only made them move even faster. They eventually caught up to him, grabbing hold of his hand and turning him around to face them.

“I said leave me alone!” yelled Guang-Hong, tears blinding him from fully seeing who it was in front of him. He suddenly felt hands on his cheeks, wiping away the tears.

“Guang-Hong…”

He gasped, realizing that the voice belonged to Leo and not Phichit like he had assumed. He tried to pull away, but Leo grabbed his hand again and his grasp on it remained firm, gently rubbing the back of his hand with his thumb. Guang-Hong tried to look away, unable to meet Leo’s gaze.

“It’s okay, Leo,” whispered Guang-Hong. “The two of you look good together. I wish you the best.”

He tried to pull away again. This time, Leo’s voice stopped him instead.

“I don’t like her.”

“What?” Guang-Hong stared at Leo, processing what he had just said. “What do you mean?”

“I turned her down. I don’t like her. I don’t even know her.” Leo chuckled lightly at this.

“But why?” asked Guang-Hong, his confusion evident.

Leo smiled shyly. “Because I like someone else.”

“Oh…”

Guang-Hong looked away again. He assumed Leo was referring to someone else. Leo understood this and laughed lightly again, shaking his head.

“I mean you, Guang-Hong. I like you.”

“Oh!” Guang-Hong felt his heart skip a beat at this and he felt himself tremble with excitement. He looked up to see Leo smiling at him, confirming that what he said was true. “I, uh, um, I, uh, I like you, uh, I like you too, Leo…”

Leo watched as Guang-Hong turned a bright shade of red, coloring his cheeks. Both of them smiling joyously at the other, happiness filling them. No other words were needed between the couple. Leaning forward, Leo placed a kiss on Guang-Hong’s forehead before placing another on his cheek, and then finally kissing his lips. It was a short and sweet kiss, but it was filled with all of the feelings the two had kept hidden inside their hearts for so long, now shared and free. When they pulled apart, Leo rested his forehead on Guang-Hong’s, both of them lovingly gazing at each other.

“Congratulations!!”

The couple jumped and separated at the sudden sound of screaming and cheering. Looking around, they finally realized that during his blind running, Guang-Hong had somehow found his way onto the balcony that had overlooked the ballroom, allowing everyone to witness their confession to each other. Matching blushes were now on both of their cheeks as the crowd continued to cheer and support their newfound relationship. Guang-Hong was about to turn and run away again, but being fueled by the crowd, Leo quickly pulled him back, kissing him deeply and proudly. Guang-Hong, aware of the fact that they were still in public, tried to pull away, but soon gave up, letting himself accept the love he was given. He and Leo were together and that was all that mattered.

“Ahhh! I knew it! I knew it would all work out!” cried Victor.

He and the Host Club were standing in a group, off to the side of the ballroom. After Guang-Hong had run off and Leo had chased after him, they had all tried to find the couple, pulling Chris and Victor away from the guests. They didn’t have to search for long though since they soon found that the guests were all watching the balcony intently as the couple became lost to themselves. Not wanting to ruin the moment, the Host Club remained silent and watched as well. All of them smiling and happy for the new couple.

“Yeah. I’m glad to all worked out too,” nodded Phichit.

The other members nodded and hummed in agreement.. It was hard to believe that Victor’s ridiculous plan had somehow managed to work this well, but it did. In truth, Yuuri’s plan would’ve worked just as well since this was essentially the outcome of Victor’s plan as well, but either way, Guang-Hong and Leo were together now and that was what they had wanted all along.

* * *

“Soooo...how are you and Leo?” giggled Mila.

She and Sara both laughed lightly as the younger boy grew red and looked away at the question. It had only been a few days after the ball, but news of the new couple had spread quickly and they were now the talk of the whole school.

“We’re doing well,” mumbled Guang-Hong. He looked down for a moment before looking up and smiling. “We were worried about how Leo leaving would affect us, but after some talking, we’ve decided to give the whole long-distance thing a try.”

“Ahhh!! I’m so happy to hear that!” exclaimed Sara. “You two are so cute together and I’m so happy for you two!”

“Yeah! Confessing to each other like that on the balcony was too perfect! God! If only something like that would happen to me!” cried Mila.

“Mm,” nodded Yuuri. He laughed at Sara and Mila’s antics before turning to look at Guang-Hong. “I’m really happy this all worked out for you guys too. Sorry about all of the meddling the Host Club did though.”

Guang-Hong shook his head, grinning brightly.

“No, thank  _ you _ , Yuuri! This wouldn’t have happened if it weren’t for the Host Club. So thank you once again for all of your help!”

Yuuri nodded at his friend and they turned back to the conversation before them. When Yuuri first joined the Host Club, he had expected monotonous days of him forcing himself to smile and serve unappreciative guests. But after these last few weeks, he has come to realize that there was certainly more to this host club than that. In these first few weeks alone, he had found friends who cared and a place where he belonged, but he also found hope he never knew he had lost and he smiled to himself when he realized this. Looking over around the room, Yuuri smiled upon seeing all of the Host Club members working hard. It was easy for one to assume that this place was nothing more than charming boys and rich people hoping to waste some time, and Yuuri had been one of these people, but now, he gazed upon the Host Club with new eyes. He could now see the joy that they brought to their jobs and their guests, but also the determination and need to ensure that others were happy. No longer were they a group of boys who wanted to woo the hearts of others, but a group of people who simply wanted to help others.

_ This place is certainly more interesting than I thought it would be. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so very much for all of your support so far!  
> Since these chapters are so much longer, I have to update this less frequently than my other stories, meaning I don't get the chance to more frequently interact with all of you and get your input and advice. So really, thank you to everyone who has commented! Getting feedback from you greatly improves and impacts my writing and I really appreciate it!
> 
> [dangcommaannie.tumblr.com](http://dangcommaannie.tumblr.com)


	4. Face the Music

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You'll always be our Yuuri.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Friends! I'm so sorry this is so late! I'm really sorry!  
> I was actually aiming to get this up on Wednesday because yesterday, I went out of town to go visit my best friend, [NeverBeenSane](http://archiveofourown.org/users/NeverBeenSane), and I'll be out of town until Sunday. Luckily, I had some extra time and was able to get this out on my birthday since I don't actually celebrate it, so that was nice.  
> I really am sorry for posting this so late. I originally intended for this chapter to be longer with two sections, but this first section was WAY longer than I thought it would be, so I had to make the decision to divide what I originally intended to post into two chapters instead. I meant for this to include more Minami, but it looks like we'll get him in the next chapter instead.  
> Also, remember that you can always get writing updates from me [here](http://dangcommaannie.tumblr.com/tagged/annie-writes-updates)!
> 
> Thank you so very much for you patience and support! If there are any mistakes, please let me know because this was rushed and half-edited while I'm sleep deprived.
> 
> I hope you enjoy it!

Kenjirou Minami was bored. He was sick and had the day off from school that day, and usually that meant he’d have time to lay around and scroll through social media, but nothing seemed to be happening that day and he was bored. He gave an exasperated sigh, letting his head loll to the side on his pillow before rolling over to lie on his stomach. He shifted his pillow beneath him and went through all of his social media again for the fiftieth time within the last ten minutes. Minami didn’t bother looking up, when he heard the knock at his door.

“Yeah?”

The door to Kenjirou’s room opened slightly and he could make out his caretaker and tutor’s head pop in. Kenjirou smiled when he saw her.

“Hey. Just stopping by to see how you were doing.”

Kenjirou tried to smile, but ended up sighing instead. Kanako chuckled at this and walked into the room, closing the door softly behind her. She then sat down on his bed and reached over to check his temperature with the back of her hand.

“You don’t feel too warm anymore, so it looks like you should be able to get back to school tomorrow.”

“Thank god!” sighed Kenjirou. “It’s so boring around here!”

Kanako laughed at this and shook her head. “I’m sure you’ll be able to find something to amuse you until tomorrow. For now, keep resting and remember to take your medicine later. Okay?”

Kenjirou nodded excitedly at this, making Kanako laugh again. She left without anything else being said, so Kenjirou went back to going through his apps again. He had outscrolled Facebook and was now moving onto Instagram, liking on a few posts here and there, but it seemed like the same old things as usual. Kenjirou perked up a bit when he saw a post from Yuri Plisetsky. The two had met during their junior high days at Ouran, but Kenjirou had to transfer out after his family moved across the country for business. Yuri wasn’t one to post often on Instagram and when he did, it was usually pictures of his cat or other feline related things. However, this time, Kenjirou was gifted with a selfie of the blond boy dressed in a pink dress shirt, sticking out his tongue, and an older black-haired boy peering over his shoulder with a blank expression, a hint of his pink shirt was visible as well.

* * *

 

582 likes

yuri_plisetsky: What kind of stupid theme is “Pink Wednesdays?” @otabek-altin  
**#gross #pumawednesdays #amiright?**

View all 281 comments

hostclubluv3r24 omg! u 2 r so cuuuuuute!! >3<  
phichit+chu Cute! But aren’t you two supposed to be setting tables rn? #slackers @otabek-altin  
princess.of.cozplay It’s because on Wednesdays, we wear pink! Duh! #meangirls  
lref64 #meangirls is a classic! u tellin me u haven’t seen it??  
v-nikiforov ahhhh!!! my son is so cute! <3  
yuri_plisetsky @v-nikiforov I told you not to call me that!  
yuri_plisetsky @phichit+chu whatever we’ll get to it

* * *

 

Kenjirou laughed as he read through the comments of his friend’s photo. He tapped to like it and was about to continue scrolling when he noticed another standing figure in the background. This person wasn’t facing the camera, but their back seemed oddly familiar to Kenjirou and he tilted his head as he tried to figure out why he recognized them. He then went to scroll through the rest of Yuri’s instagram to see what he could find on the mystery person and found that Yuri was a member of the Ouran High School Host Club, which was surprising, and that the person in the selfie was one of the other hosts.

Kenjirou quickly found the Host Club’s instagram through Yuri’s and was met with plenty of pictures of the Host Club members in a variety of costumes, with smiling guests, and in the midst of hilarious hijinks. Thankfully, whoever was running the Host Club’s instagram account was not Yuri and Kenjirou was quickly able to find the person he was looking for within the first couple of photos. He was shocked when he realized who it was, but knew his eyes weren’t deceiving him and the tags in the photos weren’t wrong either.

With newfound energy, Kenjirou shot out of bed and quickly dressed, while pulling clothing out of his closet and haphazardly throwing them into his suitcase. He gathered everything into his arms and practically kicked the doors to his room down, nearly running over Kanako, who had been bringing him up an afternoon snack.

“Kenjirou! Where are you going? You’re supposed to be resting!” exclaimed Kanako. She tried to get the boy to calm down, but he was already jumping down the stairs. Kanako did her best to keep up with him.

“Can’t! I have to go back!” yelled Kenjirou without looking back.

“Back? To where?”

“To Ouran!”

“What?”

“He’s there and I have to go! I’ll talk to you later, Kanako! Bye!”

Before Kanako could say anymore, Kenjirou was already out the door and jumping into the awaiting car that sped off shortly after. Kanako stood there in complete and utter shock, only able to stare blankly at where the car and Kenjirou had just been.

“I’m gonna get fired for this, aren’t I?”

* * *

 

“Achoo!”

Everyone startled at the unexpected sound of Yuuri sneezing. The boy sniffled slightly and looked at everyone around him, waving a hand in apology.

“You okay, Yuuri?” asked Guang-Hong.

“Yeah. Sorry about that,” said Yuuri. He sniffled some more.

“It’s alright,” said Mila. “Just hope you’re not getting sick or anything like that.”

Yuuri chuckled at this and shook his head, a small smile on his face. “Nah. I don’t think so, but thanks for the concern.”

Yuuri stood up and nodded his head towards the kitchen on the other side of the room. “I’m gonna go get a tissue really fast, so I’ll be back in a bit.”

His friends and guests nodded at this and continued their conversation from earlier as Yuuri hurried off. He quickly blew his nose and washed his hands before walking back towards his table.

On the way back, Yuuri walked by Chris and couldn’t help but be intrigued by how the host was flawlessly able to ooze sex appeal and lust. He found himself momentarily lost and was only brought back to reality when Chris made eye contact with him, making Yuuri blush. He knew Chris wasn’t serious in his flirting, but the thought of anyone flirting with him, even casually made him a blushing mess. Chris smirked and waved for Yuuri to come over. Yuuri titled his head in confusion and pointed at himself. Chris nodded, confirming that he was indeed gesturing for Yuuri. He walked over at Chris’s beckoning, assuming that maybe he just needed Yuuri to grab him something from the kitchen.

“Chris, you need any-Wha?!”

Chris suddenly wrapped an arm around Yuuri’s waist, once he was close enough, and settled him into his lap. Yuuri could faintly make out the sound of the guests screaming and squealing at the action and he was fairly certain that they were the center of attention for everyone in the room now, but he was too focused on how Chris’s arm was pulling him closer and how he was gazing at him hungrily. Yuuri audibly swallowed and his heart pounded in his ears as Chris’s face got closer to his. He knew Chris was most likely doing this to tease him, but this was the first time Chris had ever been so bold in front of the guests.

“D-do, uh, do, did, um, do you, uh, did you need, um, any, uh, thing, C-chris?”

Yuuri tried to pull back slightly, but Chris held onto him firmly. Yuuri now had a hand on Chris’s chest in an attempt to make some sort of distance between the two of them. Chris hummed softly and shook his head at Yuuri’s question.

“No, I just wanted to see my favorite little host.”

Chris tapped the tip of Yuuri’s nose as he said the last word, making Yuuri let out a squeak and go slightly cross-eyed. More squeals could be heard and Chris chuckled at how Yuuri was turning even redder. The two remained still for a moment before Chris reached up to touch Yuuri’s rosy cheeks.

“Aww. You’re so cute,” cooed Chris. Yuuri looked away and grew even redder at this, which made Chris chuckle again. Yuuri felt the arm on his waist loosen and he turned to face Chris with a confused look. Chris smirked at this, eyes never leaving Yuuri’s. “Shouldn’t you get back to your guests now, Yuuri?”

Yuuri quickly got up out of Chris’s lap when he said this and nodded frantically.

“O-oh! R-right! Guests! Yup! Yeah! Gotta go!”

Chris watched Yuuri stutter and run off with an amused look. The boy nearly ran into three couches on his way back, making Chris laugh. When Yuuri finally reached his seat, he turned back towards Chris briefly, wondering if he was still being watched. He caught sight of Chris’s gaze on him once again and somehow blushed even more when Chris blew him a kiss from  across the room.

Yuuri was never going to get used to that.

* * *

 

Like everyone else in the room, Victor had intently watched the scene between Chris and Yuuri. It was hard not to with the amount of screaming and squealing that was coming from that corner of the room, which only grew as the rest of the room watched too. Victor knew that Chris was only doing this to help Yuuri gain more popularity as a host, which would then help him pay off his debts sooner, but he couldn’t help but feel a bit...off as he watched them. He couldn’t help but feel as if something was gnawing incessantly at him inside.

Victor had been in a dreamlike daze as the scene played out before him, but now that it was done, he was left with his own thoughts. The smile on his face from earlier had turned into a frown when he recalled how Chris pulled Yuuri into his lap, chest to chest, hand fitting the shape of his hip perfectly. His hands turned into fists, mirroring how Chris’s grip had tightened around Yuuri’s waist, pulling him close enough to count each eyelash and hear his quiet gasps. He could feel small marks being formed in his palm as he recalled how Yuuri placed his hand on Chris’s chest, clutching at it as if it were his only lifeline. His forehead furrowed when he thought of how Yuuri looked away shyly beneath Chris’s heated gaze and how he barely struggled to escape, as if he had wanted this all along. His jaw tightened and he inhaled sharply when he remembered how red Yuuri had been when Chris caressed his cheek, thinking about how heated Yuuri’s skin must be. Victor finally let out a breath he didn’t know he had been holding in when he thought of the moment when the two of them broke apart and Yuuri went back to his guests, but the same odd incessant feelings came back when he noticed Yuuri secretly glancing back at Chris.

Victor wasn’t sure what this feeling might be. He had never felt anything like it before and it brought him much confusion and displeasure. He hated whatever this feeling was. He hated how it brought a dull ache to his chest. He hated how it made him feel as if he had just run ten marathons in a row. He hated how it made him feel as if he had gotten news of a relative passing. He hated how it filled him with the same anger and aggression he had felt when Belinda tried to hurt Yuuri. He hated how it made him feel like he was drowning, yet never dying, constantly gasping for air. He hated how narrow his vision was now, how hyperfocused he was on this feeling and this feeling alone. Victor didn’t know what was going on, but he knew that hated it, hated it, hated it, and he wanted it to stop. He needed it to stop. It needed to stop. This all needs to-

“Victor, are you alright? Victor? You’re crushing your cookie. Victor?!”

Victor breathed in sharply and gasped. He blinked and shook his head, attempting to clear his head. He looked back up to see the concerned look of his guests. He looked down at his hand to see that the cookie he had been holding earlier had been crushed in his fists, crumbs leaking out now. He moved his hand over to a spare tea plate and let the remains of the cookie fall onto the plate. He grabbed a napkin and wiped his hands clean before turning to his guests again. Victor gave them all a small smile, hoping that it would soothe their concerns.

“I’m so sorry for getting distracted like that,” said Victor. “I didn’t mean to let my personal thoughts interrupt our time together.”

Seeing the tired look in Victor’s eyes, the guests all reassured him that it was fine, and offered him their help and well-wishes. Some of them offered to leave early to let him rest and sort out whatever had been bothering him, but he dismissed the notion. He smiled softly at their kindness and reassured them that he would be perfectly fine. They continued as they always did and no mention of Victor’s mental state came up again, but in the back of his mind, the same odd feeling remained, threatening to come up again.

He’d have to talk to Chris later.

* * *

 

The lasts of the guests left and the Host Club waved happily at all of them. Like always, Phichit began delegating clean-up tasks and they all separated to go about their jobs. Victor quickly pulled Chris to the side to discuss matters. From the serious look on Victor’s face, Chris knew it was an important issue, so he didn’t question what was wrong, until they were well out of hearing range of the other members.

“Something wrong, Victor?”

“Yes, there is,” Victor answered tersely. His arms were crossed and he was frowning. “We need to talk about your little display with Yuuri earlier.”

Chris’s brow furrowed in confusion at this. Victor has never shown any dislike of his flirtation in the past. Before Yuuri came, he and Victor were often the ones doing fanservice acts to increase their appeal and the number of guests. He thought Victor would’ve approved of this since it would drastically increase Yuuri’s popularity, but Victor looked as if he were about to punch him in the face instead.

“Sure. What about it?” asked Chris cautiously.

“Don’t do it again.”

“Alright, but can I ask why?”

Chris crossed his arms and met Victor’s angry glare with a curious look. Victor huffed before answering. “Yes, because Yuuri didn’t like it, so I didn’t like it. So don’t do it again.”

At the mention of Yuuri’s name, Chris’s expression grew into one of intrigue and amusement. They might not have known each other for long, but Chris had his suspicions about Victor’s interest in Yuuri from the very beginning. He knew Victor was lying, both to the other members and himself, when he said that his concern for the younger boy came from the fact that he was a new student and because they were indirectly connected in the past, and this practically confirmed it for Chris. Victor seemed to grow more frustrated as he watched Chris shake his head and turn away, clearly trying to hide the growing smile on his face.

“This isn’t a laughing matter, Chris. This is serious,” scolded Victor. “Yuuri didn’t like it, so you need to stop. I know we’ve all discussed how affectionate you are and Yuuri said he understood, but you overstepped it today. You need to stop. President’s orders.”

Chris held up his hands in surrender, but the amused look on his face remained. “Alright. Alright. I’ll stop. I understand. I’m sorry. I went too far today.”

“Good.”

“But,” continued Chris, “I have another question for you.”

Victor’s eyes narrowed, but gestured for his friend to continue.

“Are you jealous?”

Victor immediately started choking and pulled back in shock, brain shutting down as he sputtered to find and appropriate answer. All the while, Chris’s smile only grew even more as his previous suspicions slowly became facts.

“W-what?! Chris! H-how dare you!” exclaimed Victor. He was doing his best to keep his voice down and not draw too much attention to them. “I am NOT jealous of you! I have never felt jealous in my entire life! I don’t even know what jealous is! So I am definitely NOT jealous of you!”

Chris nodded, taking in Victor’s furious and flabbergasted expression. “Really?” he said calmly. “Because I definitely didn’t ask who you were jealous of.”

“W-well! I, uh, I mean, um, I mean, why would I be jealous of Yuuri? You and I flirt and do that all the time. It’s normal for us, but it’s not for Yuuri. And anyway, I’m not jealous, so stop thinking that I’m jealous!”

“I see,” nodded Chris. “Okay then. A few more questions then.”

Victor gave an irritated sigh, but didn’t make any move to leave or end the conversation.

“Since you weren’t jealous, could you explain what about the flirting thing that you didn’t like?”

Chris watched as Victor seemed to be debating how to best respond to the question. His jaw was tightened and he looked away with a far off look. He gave another irritated sigh before holding up a hand and began counting off all of the things that had been bothering. His glare grew even stronger and he moved closer to Chris, speaking in a low whisper.

“I didn’t like how you grabbed him. I didn’t like how you pulled him into your lap. I didn’t like how close you were. I didn’t like you how looked at him. I didn’t like how you spoke to him. I didn’t like how you touched him. I didn’t like any of it. Don’t do it again.”

The amused expression on Chris’s face never left during Victor’s explanation. It seemed like he knew something Victor didn’t and he was beginning to get a bit pissed off with how his best friend was acting.

“Alright. I already agreed not to do it again, so don’t worry, Victor,” said Chris in return. “But how did seeing all of those things make you feel?”

“Chris, where are you going with all of this? It’s getting ridic-”

“Did it make you feel angry? Not the normal kind of angry though. Really angry, truly angry. Like how we all felt when we saw Belinda hurt Yuuri. That kind of angry.”

Victor gasped and pulled back, astonished with how accurate Chris’s statement had been, but assumed it was only because his best friend knew him well. Chris was serious now.

“Did it make you ache? Did it feel as if a weight was settled on your chest? As if it were harder to breathe?”

Victor stared at Chris. Words were failing, so he only nodded slightly.

“Were you fixated on us and only us? Did you want to drag him away from me? Stop me?”

“Yes,” whispered Victor. “How do you know all of this?”

“Because I’ve felt it before and it’s called jealousy,” answered Chris.

Victor stepped back again and vehemently shook his head. “No. No way. There’s no way. I was not jealous. I don’t get jealous. Why would I be jealous? I have no reason to be jealous, Chris.”

Chris looked away for a beat and sighed, contemplating how to tell his friend his. Victor was often aware of others and their feelings, but when it came to his own, Victor was either blind as a bat or willfully ignoring them. Chris wasn’t sure which one it was yet, but he knew he had to directly tell Victor of his conclusion. He turned back to face Victor, whose expression was a mixture of denial and worry.

“I think it’s because you like him.”

“W-what?” asked Victor in disbelief.

“I think it’s because you like him. You like Yuuri.”

Victor shook his head once more. “You’re being ridiculous again. Of course, I like Yuuri. He’s my friend. He’s our friend.”

“You know that’s not what I meant, Victor,” cut in Chris. “I mean that I think you like him as more than a friend.”

Chris let the words linger for a moment, allowing Victor to process them. He watched as his friend opened and closed his mouth repeatedly, searching for the right words. He looked around frantically, unable to meet Chris’s gaze, as if maybe the room held the answers he was looking for. He finally looked up at Chris with a wondrous expression.

“Oh my god,” he whispered. “I like Yuuri as more than a friend. I think I might love him.”

Normally, it took forever for Victor to accept his feelings this readily, so for him to make the leap from like to love so quickly was shocking to Chris. He did his best not to show his astonishment though and placed a comforting hand on Victor’s shoulder, giving him an understanding smile.

“I know this is a lot for you to take in right now, but-”

“Chris, I love my son so much. I don’t know why it took me so long to realize it.”

Chris could practically hear the record scratch when he processed Victor’s words. It was now his turn to be confused.

“I’m sorry. Did you just say...your son? Did you just say you love _your son_?”

Victor suddenly placed his hands on Chris’s face and gave him a serious expression.

“Yes, Chris, that’s exactly what I said. I understand everything now. I hadn’t realized how quickly our little Yuuri had become like family to us, so my anger towards you came from my own unconsciously protective fatherly nature. I had to protect my son.”

“We’re...we’re talking about the same person, right? I’m referring to the older Yuuri, by the way. Not the blond one. The natural type. Not the pretty type.”

“Yes, Chris! I know who we’re talking about! I know now! I understand!” exclaimed Victor. He suddenly pulled Chris into a tight hug. “Thank you for helping me understand everything, Chris. You truly are a great friend and wonderful uncle to my two sons.”

“Uncle?”

“Yes and I’m sorry I snapped at your earlier. I know you were only doing all of that for Yuuri’s sake. I didn’t mean for my fatherly concern to get in the way like that. I know you would never do anything inappropriate to my precious son. I’m sorry again.”

Chris’s forehead furrowed in confusion. He really hadn’t expected the conversation to go in this direction, but then again, with Victor, anything was possible. Uncertain of what to do next, Chris awkwardly patted Victor’s back as Victor continued to hug him tightly. Victor didn’t even seem to notice how perplexed Chris was when he pulled away and skipped back to wear the others were.

“Yuuri! My son!”

Yuri, believing that Victor was referring to him, quickly set down the teacup he was holding and ran to hide behind Otabek. To his and everyone else’s surprise, Victor instead ran up to Yuuri and pulled him into a tight hug. Noticing that he was spared this time, Yuri went over to Chris and Phichit, who both wore the same confused expression that he had. Otabek followed closely behind him. They all stood to the side and briefly watched as Victor continued to hug Yuuri and exclaim his love for his new son, while continuously ignoring Yuuri’s questions about his surprise adoption.

“Son?” asked Yuri. “What the hell is he talking about?”

Phichit shrugged and looked at Chris, who only shook his head. “I...have no idea, but apparently, you and Yuuri are Victor’s sons, so I guess that makes you two brothers now, and I’m apparently your uncle.”

“What?”

“I really don’t know. You’re going to have to ask Victor.”

Yuri sneered at this. “This is stupid. I’m gonna go back to cleaning, so I can leave already.”

Yuri walked away from the group and back to the tables. Sadly, while in the midst of proclaiming his love for his newest son, Victor was still able to notice Yuri approaching and pulled him into the hug as well. Both Yuri and Yuuri struggled against his grasp, but Victor’s love was stronger. Chris, Phichit, and Otabek couldn’t help but laugh at this.

“Well, they certainly look like a happy family, at least,” commented Chris, making Phichit smile and shake his head. The younger boy then turned to him with a curious expression.

“Hey. If Victor’s the dad, both Yuris are the sons, and you’re the uncle, what does that make me and Otabek?”

Chris could only shrug once again. Phichit shook his head in response before giving Chris and Otabek looks that said they should probably separate them and get back to cleaning. It took some struggling, but they were all eventually able to calm Victor and free the Yuris. Everyone had just about settled back into their usual routine when the doors to room suddenly burst open. All eyes turned to see a young boy with dirty blond hair and red-dyed portion in the front. His eyes were frantically searching the room and when he finally found what he was looking for, his eyes grew wide and broad grin covered half of his face. He was dressed in Ouran’s uniform, but from the shared looks around the room, no one recognized who he was.

“I’m sorry, but we’re closed for the-”

“It’s you! I can’t believe it’s you! I finally found you! Yuuuuuri!”

Since they were both standing near each other, neither of the Yuris could tell who the stranger was referring to. Kenjirou quickly headed towards them with his arms wide open, ready to pull someone into a hug. Having just escaped Victor’s hug, both Yuris began backing up.

“I think he’s talking about you,” said Yuri. He hadn’t turned his head, keeping his eyes focused on the boy in front of them.

“M-me? It can’t be! I don’t know him! I think he means you!” Yuuri said back.

“What?! I don’t know him either!”

Both Yuris turned to face each other with befuddled and shocked looks before turning around and sprinting off. Kenjirou followed after them accordingly, chasing them around the music room. They thought they’d be able to outrun the younger boy, but Kenjirou was smart. He decided to swiftly leap over one of the couches and cut both of the Yuris off, stopping them with a tackling hug.

Meanwhile, the other Host Club members had been watching the scene with a mixture of confusion and anxiety. With his exclamation, they all shared concerned looks, worried that one of the Yuris might have found themselves a stalker problem. With the Host Club’s popularity, it had happened before with Victor and they were not keen on having another stalking incident. However, the boy’s actions didn’t mark him as a stalker though, but rather an enthusiastic fan of some sort, which made them all uncertain of how to intervene. Eventually, Otabek came to the Yuris’ rescue, lifting the unknown boy off of them. Chris quickly rushed over to help both of them up, while Otabek awkwardly held the boy up in the air, his arms and legs waving about excitedly.

“Phichit?”

“I’ll go brew a pot of tea.”

* * *

 

“Uwah! These cookies are so good! You have to tell me where you guys get them!”

Phichit smiled and nodded as he watched the boy enthusiastically stuff another cookie into his mouth, puffing his cheeks out like a chipmunk. He glanced over at Victor, who was next to him, silently asking how they wanted to go about this. Victor only waved a hand dismissively, letting the boy finish his cookie. While Yuuri decided to sit next to Phichit, Yuri had settled himself next to Victor with Chris resting on the arm of the couch next to him. Otabek stood behind them all, arms crossed protectively. Noticing that the boy was about done with his current cookie and was reaching for another one, Victor stopped him by clearing his throat, effectively making him look up.

“You’re free to have as many as you’d like, but before that, is it alright if we all talk for a bit?”

With his mouth still stuffed, the boy nodded enthusiastically before reaching for the teacup to help clear this throat. He downed it quickly and the bright grin from before returned to his face as he waited for Victor to talk.

“Good. Thank you,” said Victor. He sighed and smiled kindly. “So let’s not dance around the vein any longer and start with who you are.”

“Eh?” squeaked the boy. He tilted his head to the side cutely. “You don’t know who I am? I thought Yuri would’ve told you.”

The boy turned to look at Yuri and everyone else did as well. The blond boy shrugged. “I don’t know him.”

At the sound of giggling, everyone turned to look at the boy again. “Oh Yuri! You’re always so silly! Of course, he knows who I am!”

“No, I don’t,” deadpanned Yuri.

“Yes, you do!”

“No. I don’t. Not at all. Now, who are you and why are you here?” growled Yuri.

“Oh. Okay then,” said the boy, finally realizing that Yuri was telling the truth. He looked sad for a total of two seconds before the bright grin returned to his face. “In that case, hi! I’m Kenjirou Minami! I just transferred back to Ouran today!”

“Transferred back?” asked Phichit.

“Mm!” nodded Kenjirou excitedly. “I went to Ouran up until my second year of junior high, which is how I know Yuri. We were in the same class together, but I had to transfer since my family moved across the country.”

From his right, Victor could hear Chris chuckling and Yuri’s voice telling him to shut up. He didn’t bother to look over, but nudged Yuri with his shoulder to get him to stop. He gave Kenjirou another smile.

“I see. Well, it’s nice to meet you, Kenjirou. We’re glad to have you here.”

“Thank you!”

“So Kenjirou, why are you visiting the Host Club today?” asked Victor. “We don’t usually accept visitors after closing, but since you’re a new face, we thought we’d say hello, at least, but we’re still not certain of your reason for visiting. Come by to say hi to an old classmate or…?”

Victor left the question open for Kenjirou to fill in the blank. The boy seemed to be shivering with anticipation and excitement, his eyes sparkling with joy. Phichit, Chris, Victor, and Otabek all smiled, but they also stiffened slightly once they noticed this, preparing for the worst. Kenjirou then shook his head quickly.

“Nope! I mean, it’s nice to see you again, Yuri, but that’s not why I’m here!” Kenjirou suddenly leapt onto the table, kneeling on top of it. He turned and leaned towards Yuuri, who pulled back at the sudden proximity, staring at him with large enthusiastic eyes and his hands clutched in front of him. “I’m here because I finally found you! I finally found you, Yuuri!” He then turned to give Victor the same look. “And I can’t believe that you’re here too!”

The Host Club members all jumped up as well, immediately moving to create distance between Kenjirou and Yuuri, just in case. Otabek quickly moved the boy off of the table and sat him back down again. This time, Otabek sat next to him, ready to react to anymore sudden movements. Once seated, Victor looked over at Yuuri, who quickly shook his head, silently telling him that he had no idea who Kenjirou was either. Victor shook his head as well and turned back to the boy.

“I see you’re a fan of our Yuuri, which is interesting since both of you are new here. So how exactly do you know Yuuri, Kenjirou? How do you know me as well? Because I don’t believe we’ve ever had the chance to meet before.”

Kenjirou gasped. “Oh no! Of course not! None of us have ever met before! At least, I don’t think so. I’m just a really big fan of Yuuri! You’re great too Victor, but Yuuri is just incredible!”

“We thank you for thinking so highly of us,” smiled Victor, “but that still doesn’t explain how you know us, Kenjirou.”

Victor glanced at Yuuri with a worried expression. There was something in him that was telling him that things were about to go badly, but he was doing his best to ignore it, hoping that maybe there was another connection between him and Yuuri, anything but _that_. He knew it was too early to bring it up now, but it was beginning to look like it might happen anyway. He prayed that Yuuri would take it well, but he knew it was unlikely.

Kenjirou looked back and forth between the other Host Club members, realizing that they were all greatly confused about why he was so excited about finally getting to meet Yuuri and Victor. “What?! You mean you guys don’t know?!”

The boy quickly got his phone from out of his pocket and started tapping away. He soon pulled up a screen with a video loading and set it down on the table for all of them to see. Yuuri’s eyes widened and he shifted away from Phichit. He finally figured out what Kenjirou was getting at when he caught sight of the familiar stage.

“Up next,” came the announcer’s voice from the phone’s speakers, “we have Yuuri Katsuki, age 16, performing Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 8 in C minor, Op. 13 and Chopin’s Étude Op. 10, No. 4.”

The sound of applause followed afterwards, but Yuuri didn’t hear it at all. Waves of emotions he had long past suppressed came rushing back and he felt himself begin to tremble, heart pounding loudly in his ears and causing him to clutch at his chest in an attempt to stop it. He could feel his breathing quicken and threat of tears. He thought coming to Ouran would mean leaving it all behind, but he was wrong and he hated it. Yuuri stood up suddenly and gasped, searching for air. He staggered as he stood up, but he couldn’t tell if it was because he had moved too suddenly or if it was because the room was now spinning.

Unlike Kenjirou, who was enraptured with Yuuri’s performance, the Host Club members were all watching Yuuri with great concern. Phichit had tried to reach for his hand and get him to sit again, but Yuuri pulled away, holding onto the couch for support instead. Their hearts all broke as they looked upon Yuuri’s broken and empty gaze.

“Yuuri?” whispered Phichit. He tried to reach for Yuuri again. “Yuuri, come sit down. It’ll be okay. Come here.”

“How did you find that?” asked Yuuri, ignoring Phichit. “How do you know about that? How do you know about me?! Why would you come here and remind me of this?!”

Kenjirou looked up from his phone. His grin immediately dropping into a frown when he saw the silent tears falling down Yuuri’s face. The boy suddenly realized that he had made a big mistake.

“Um, I’m, um, I’m also a pianist and I, uh, I saw your performance. You’re just really great and I wanted to be like you and  I just. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to.”

Kenjirou stood up and tried to reach for Yuuri, but he took a step back, creating more distance between the two. The Host Club didn’t know who broke their hearts more, Yuuri with his look of betrayal and fear or Kenjirou realizing that he had severely hurt his idol.

“I didn’t know. I’m sorry. I thought everyone knew about you because of Victor and I didn’t realize it. I’m sorry. I’m really sorry,” cried Kenjirou.

“Victor? What does Victor have to do with anything?” asked Yuuri. He turned to look at the person in question. Victor pulled back and felt himself gasp at the intensity of Yuuri’s stare. Mentally, he was telling himself to stop Kenjirou, but like the other members, all of them remained frozen, unable to figure out how to properly respond to everything, worried that any move could cause an even bigger catastrophe.

“I found out where you were through Yuri’s and the Host Club’s instagrams and when I saw Victor in the pictures too, I figured you joined to be with him. Y’know, since you both competed in the Van Cliburn and everything. I thought you guys knew who each other were. I’m sorry. I really didn’t know. I’m sorry.”

Victor watched as Yuuri’s eyes widened in recognition. “Oh my god,” he gasped. “You’re him. You’re Victor Nikiforov.”

Victor hadn’t realized that Yuuri knew of him as well, but did his best to keep calm, not wanting to cause anymore issues. “Yes, I am. But Yuuri, I think we all need to sit down and talk-”

“Oh god. You’re Victor Nikiforov.”

“Yuuri,” Victor stood up, “I know a lot is happening, but we need to sit down and talk about this. We just need to calm down and-”

“You knew who I was, didn’t you?” asked Yuuri. His voice was a harsh whisper. His lips trembled as more tears began to fall. “You knew and you didn’t say anything?”

Victor only nodded. He couldn’t lie to Yuuri. Yuuri took in a shaky breath and looked at the other members. “And you? Did you know too?”

No one said anything and it was more than enough to tell Yuuri all that he needed to know. He shook his head and walked away. Yuuri got his things from where they had been left in the kitchen and began making his way out of the music room. While the Host Club members and Kenjirou all looked at each other with worry and uncertainty, Victor was the only one to do anything.

“Wait, Yuuri,” Victor called out as he followed closely behind, “we can explain.” Victor reached for Yuuri’s hand, but like before Yuuri pulled it away. He turned back to glare at Victor, who felt as if he had just been slapped. “I’m sorry.”

“I’m leaving,” muttered Yuuri. Nothing more was said between him and Victor as Yuuri continued out the door, slamming it behind him. Victor remained frozen in place, staring at the door, wondering what he could do to fix all of this. Behind him, Phichit had moved to sit next to Kenjirou, who was now quietly crying as well and apologizing for what he had done. Victor couldn’t hear them, but he knew Phichit was reassuring the young boy that it wasn’t his fault. They all knew he hadn’t meant to. Truthfully, the only person Victor was blaming was himself because he knew he should’ve said something. He should’ve said something sooner. He shouldn’t have kept this hidden and now, he had lost Yuuri’s trust, and that was something he didn’t expect to affect to this greatly. He had to fix this, but the question now was how to do so.

* * *

 

With everything that happened, it was easy to see why Phichit made the decision to cancel the Host Club for the rest of the week and thankfully, the guests were all satisfied and understanding with the vague reason they gave for having to cancel the Host Club for the next three days. Used to their routine though, the Host Club members still made their way over to Music Room 3 after class the first day. The tension between them all was stifling. All of them went around with dark clouds over each of them and not even Phichit’s cheerfulness could help lighten the mood, especially since he was also the one that had to inform them that Yuuri hadn’t shown up to class that day. All of them had expected this and knew that Yuuri needed some space and time now. They were thankful that they were able to avoid any sort of awkward encounters between them when they were told that Yuuri’s sister had already come by to pick up his work earlier in the day, but that didn’t settle the guilt and worry that they all felt.

Yuuri didn’t show up on the second day either and the Host Club’s worry increased. They all wanted to desperately help and try to fix this, but none of them knew what to do, so there they sat silently in the music room, drowning in emotions. Kenjirou had, in fact, gotten a transfer into Ouran and was now in Yuri’s class. He had been in class on the first day, but having heard rumors of Yuuri not being around, he made a stop at the Host Club on the second day of cancellation. The Host Club members were all mildly shocked to see the boy, but once they all saw the regretful look in his eyes, they all understood that he felt just as badly, if not more, than they did about what happened. None of them had meant to bring up Yuuri’s secrets. None of them had meant to betray his trust. They repeated the same pattern as the day before though, all of them sitting silently in a circle, guilt eating away at them.

On Friday, the third day, Victor finally had enough. They hadn’t seen Yuuri during lunch the last couple of days either, but that didn’t keep them from getting a bit hopeful whenever Phichit walked into the music room, only to shake his head, immediately telling the Host Club and Kenjirou that Yuuri was, once again, not in class. All of them were seated like usual, a plate of sweets and a pot of tea that seemed to eternally be on the coffee table now. None of them ate or drank anything, not even Kenjirou, but Phichit kept on serving them anyway. Victor assumed it was his way of dealing with everything since the other members had been acting differently as well. Otabek would show up early before all of them to clean up the room, even though there was nothing to clean up anyway. Chris’s flirtatious nature was toned down drastically, but the biggest change was in Yuri. His usual brash nature had been replaced with a sullen and morose one. He hadn’t even bothered to move away when Victor settled himself next to him and pulled him into a one-armed hug for comfort. Pulling away, Victor took in the sight of everyone staring down blankly at their hands and realized that he has had enough of this. He couldn’t let the Host Club and Yuuri continue on like this. He could only imagine what the boy must be going through on his own and he had to do something. Taking a deep breath, Victor became the first person to speak within the last three days.

“I’m gonna go see Yuuri.”

Everyone turned to face him, confusion and shock on all of their faces.

“I’m gonna go see Yuuri,” repeated Victor. “This has been going on for long enough and we need to talk this through, so I’m gonna go see Yuuri tomorrow.”

Victor looked around the room and could see the hesitation in everyone’s expressions. He did his best to give them reassuring looks, but it was Phichit who decided to speak for all of them.

“Are you sure, Victor?”

“I’m sure,” nodded Victor. “Like I said, we need to talk about this at some point, so we might as well do it now. Yuuri is our friend, afterall, and I don’t want things between us to end like this.”

Phichit’s face still displayed his concern, but he eventually sighed and nodded, knowing that this was something that shouldn’t be avoided. “Okay,” he nodded again, “Do you want us to come with you?”

Victor paused to think on the offer, but shook his head. “No. This is a lot for Yuuri and all of us showing up unexpectedly might make it worse for him. It’s best if I just go since this is my fault anyway.”

“Victor,” Chris spoke up suddenly, “you know that’s not-”

“It is. It’s my fault,” cut in Victor. “I should’ve told him. I shouldn’t have hidden this from him, so I’m gonna go and hopefully, we can resolve all of this.”

Chris opened his mouth to argue, but upon seeing the look on Victor’s face, he knew he wouldn’t be able to persuade his friend. He eventually nodded and gave him a small smile. Chris knew this was something Victor had to do on his own and silently wished him and Yuuri the best. Like the others, he wanted things to end well, with Yuuri happy and with their little family intact, but he also knew it was very possible that things could end badly as well. At the very least though, he and the others certainly didn’t want to leave things unresolved between the Host Club and Yuuri.

Getting approval from Phichit and Chris, Victor looked over at Otabek, who gave a slight nod. He then looked at Yuri next to him. The blond boy could feel Victor’s gaze on him and turned to face him before looking away again, the same unhappy expression on his face. Victor waited patiently, knowing that Yuri was sorting through his own thoughts as well.

“Don’t fuck up.”

The muttered words from Yuri made Victor laugh, which then spread to the other members as well. The sound and sensation immediately lightened the mood and removed the clouds that had overstayed their welcome. Victor heard an unfamiliar laugh and remembered that Kenjirou was with them as well. Looking over at the younger boy as his laughter died down, Kenjirou gave Victor a regretful, yet determined look.

“Please tell Yuuri that I’m sorry.”

Victor nodded. The bright grin that had been missing from Kenjirou’s face had returned, making the world seem just a bit more...right.

* * *

 

Victor took another deep breath and looked up at the structure in the front of him, rereading the sign for what felt like the thousandth time. The characters never changed, but Victor didn’t want to make anymore mistakes. He couldn’t risk making them. Double checking that he did, in fact, read the sign correctly again and again, Victor took another deep breath. He stood there anxious and praying that he was at the right place since he had only been there once before and it was only in passing.

_Yu-topia Katsuki. This is it. This is the place._

Victor sighed and forced himself to walk before he had the chance to runaway. The distance seemed to last a lifetime, but Victor eventually made it to the door. He knew he should’ve slid open the door already, but he remained frozen, standing there, wondering if he had made the right decision once again. He knew he had to do this and he knew this was the right thing to do, but god, was he scared. He was terrified of what may come of this. But he had to! He had to! He had to!

He took another breath to calm himself down and tried to reach for the door again, when he was cut off by the door sliding open itself. Victor thought that maybe the gods had heard his doubts and decided to open the door for him, but soon realized that was incredibly unlikely and ridiculous. Victor soon realized that he was standing face to face with a stranger. His eyes widened as he took in the curious sight of her brown hair with partially bleached patches. Her ear piercings twinkled and shone, drawing his gaze downward to the unlit cigarette hanging from her mouth. Taking a step back, Victor looked at her red ensemble and how she had a hand resting casually on the door, before looking back up at her surprised expression that surely matched his own.

“Oh. Sorry. Didn’t know you were out here. We don’t normally get customers this early in the morning,” said the stranger in English. Victor internally sighed with relief since he hadn’t had the chance to brush up on his Japanese, like he said he would. She turned and waved for him to follow after her into the hot springs resort. “Welcome to Yu-topia Katsuki. Come in and I’ll get you-”

“Actually!” interrupted Victor, finally finding his voice. The woman turned around and raised an eyebrow at this outburst. Victor suddenly felt very self conscious under her gaze. “Um, actually, uh, I’m not here as a customer.”

The strange woman turned back around and leaned her shoulder onto the doorway again, arms crossed, and head tilted curiously. The last act seemed familiar to Victor for some reason.

“I’m just, uh, I’m just here to see Yuuri,” continued Victor.

“Yuuri?” At the sound of the boy’s name, the corners of the woman’s mouth dropped slightly and her gaze seemed colder. Victor took another step back and felt ten times smaller now, suddenly realizing that this was probably Yuuri’s sister. Victor was more than certain that she knew Yuuri wasn’t in the best mental state right now, given that she’s the one who’s been picking up his notes and work from school, but he wasn’t certain how much she knew about the situation or if she knew that Victor was the cause of it all. “Why? What do you want with Yuuri?”

Victor gulped and let out a shaky breath. “I’m a...friend and I just wanted to see how he was doing and maybe talk or something…”

Victor looked away, letting his words trail off. He could feel Yuuri’s sister studying him carefully. Her stance made her seem relaxed and calm, but he could see how much she cared for her younger as he looked him up and down slowly, deciphering his intentions. Victor looked up when he heard Yuuri’s sister sigh and step out of the doorway for him. She pulled out a lighter from her pocket apron, lit the momentarily forgotten cigarette, and took a puff from it before addressing him.

“Take off your shoes. There are slippers by the door. Yuuri’s room is in the hallway on the right, the very last door.”

“Thank you!” exclaimed Victor. He felt like he was able to finally breath again, now that the first obstacle was out of the way. “Thank you very much!”

Yuuri’s sister waved a hand dismissively. Victor quickly made his way inside, changing into slippers. He was able to find his way to Yuuri’s room easily, but now, he found himself staring the door with apprehension. Before he knew it, his hand acted before his mind did and he heard the sound of him knocking at Yuuri’s door. A muffled string of Japanese was heard, leaving Victor uncertain of how to respond. He tentatively knocked at the door again. He heard a bit of shuffling coming from behind the door and the sound of Yuuri cursing softly, followed by the sound of the door unlocking. The door opened and Yuuri let out another string of Japanese that was too quick for Victor to comprehend fully, but from it, he learned that Yuuri’s sister was named Mari. The flow of the words were cut off abruptly when Yuuri finally realized that Victor was definitely not his sister.

The two of them stared at each other, uncertain of how to proceed, both of them taking in the sight of the other. Victor wasn’t completely certain of how he looked, but he knew he must have looked like a mess. He hadn’t been getting any sleep the last couple of days due to his worries and guilt, so dark circles now outlined his dull blue eyes. Not wanting to waste time that morning, Victor had grabbed a shirt that had been hanging off of his desk chair for who knows how long and an old pair of jeans. He hoped that they weren’t more than a few days old, but he knew that wasn’t likely. His hair had remained unstyled for the last couple of days as well and was beginning to lose its usual shine. Yuuri didn’t seem to be any better than Victor though. The same dark circles outlined his eyes as well, but there was a shade of red within them as well. His hair was disheveled and the giant hoodie that he wore had definitely seen better days. His unkempt state made Victor feel even worse.

“Hi,” said Victor awkwardly. He shuffled about, fiddling with his fingers and gnawing at his bottom lip. “Um, could we, uh, could we talk?”

Yuuri said nothing, only staring at Victor, wondering if he was real or not and if he was real, why was he here on a Saturday morning. He thought about closing the door and returning to the warmth of his bed, but upon seeing the look in Victor’s eyes, Yuuri felt unable to do so. Not saying anything, he simply stepped out of the way, allowing Victor in. He couldn’t see Victor’s face when he turned around and climbed back into his bed, but he could hear him faintly let out a sigh of relief as he closed the door behind him. Yuuri settled himself on his bed once again, with his knees pulled up to his chest, hugging them tightly and resting his head on them. Victor sat down in Yuuri’s desk chair. The silence between them was heavy as they searched for where to begin.

“I’m sorry,” Victor finally said after some time. Yuuri’s eyes moved to look at him and Victor looked away, suddenly feeling self-conscious. “Kenjirou is really sorry too. We all are. We didn’t mean to hurt you like this. We’re really sorry, Yuuri.”

Yuuri said nothing, only playing with the long sleeves of his hoodie.

“I should’ve told you from the beginning. I shouldn’t have kept it hidden. I figured it wasn’t something you wanted to bring up since you didn’t tell us, but I still should’ve told you when I found out. I shouldn’t have hidden it. I should’ve told you everything. I’m really sorry, Yuuri.”

Victor looked back at Yuuri, who was processing his words. “We understand if you don’t want to be with the Host Club anymore. Don’t worry about the debt. We’ll deal with it. Don’t worry. We’re just really sorry about everything, Yuuri.”

Yuuri finally looked up at this. “But I don’t want to leave.”

“You don’t? But you said- You don’t?”

Yuuri shook his head. “No. Of course not. You’re my friends. Besides, I’m not really angry at you guys anyway.”

“Oh thank god,” sighed Victor. He caught Yuuri giving him a small smile at this and felt himself smile as well, but Yuuri’s smile soon disappeared and he looked away. He waited patiently as Yuuri continued to fidget.

“It’s just,” Yuuri sighed, “there’s a lot to talk about and I just. I don’t know. I’m just...frustrated.”

“You don’t have to tell us if you don’t want to Yuuri,” said Victor. “We understand.”

Yuuri looked over at Victor. Neither of them had noticed when Victor moved his chair closer to Yuuri’s bed, but he was now leaning on it, giving Yuuri an understanding look. Yuuri shook his head.

“No, I want to tell you guys. I want to talk about it. I just...don’t know how to.”

Victor nodded. “Well...we could start with the piano thing. Is that okay? I can start, if you want.”

Yuuri stiffened at this, but nodded anyway, allowing Victor to continue.

“Well,” began Victor. “You already know who I am and that I know who you are because we both competed in the Van Cliburn competition. It was at different times though, but still. I know that you’re incredibly talented and you made it far in the competition, but then you pretty much disappeared after that. Meeting you and realizing who you were at Ouran was a complete coincidence and I didn’t realize who you were until after you joined the Host Club. But once I did know the truth, I knew you had a reason for not telling us who you were and I didn’t want you to feel forced to tell us. I told the Host Club about you because I wanted to make sure that none of them would ever accidentally bring it up. I know Kenjirou didn’t mean to either and he’s really sorry about it.”

He paused, having explain part of his story and knowledge, and waited patiently for Yuuri. The boy still seemed apprehensive and uncertain of how to begin. Victor got up from the chair and moved to sit next to Yuuri on the bed, hoping that the presence of someone else would calm him down. He wasn’t sure if his action helped though since Yuuri hadn’t moved from his position, but he heard him take a deep breath and then sigh.

“I was a pianist, like you. I...this is really embarrassing, but...I actually became a pianist after I saw you perform at the Van Cliburn.”

Yuuri quickly ducked his head into his arms, but Victor knew that a blush had settled on his face. He smiled happily at this and felt his heart swell. Victor was no stranger to people paying him compliments, but knowing that someone as great as Yuuri thought so highly of him truly meant a lot to him. Yuuri gently lifted his head and rested them on his arms.

“I worked hard and somehow, I was able to get into the junior competition. It was a really big deal for my family because I wanted to use the prize money to help with some repairs at the hot springs. But then…”

Yuuri looked away again, a hesitant look his face. Victor placed a hand on his shoulder comfortingly. “It’s okay. You don’t have to tell me.”

“No, it’s just,” Yuuri shook his head, “It’s just...really stupid…”

“Whatever happened to you was not stupid if it meant it affected you this much.”

“But it is stupid!” exclaimed Yuuri. “I,” he sighed, “I got some news before I performed at the semi-finals.” He looked down, a melancholic look in his eyes. His hands turned into fists and Victor instinctively reached for them. “My dog died. I messed up and threw away a ton of money because I was too sad to play because I missed my dog. It’s stupid. I’m so stupid. God!”

Victor quickly wrapped an arm around Yuuri’s shoulders and pulled him into a hug, resting his head on top of his. He knew Yuuri was about to cry and began rubbing his arm soothingly. He could feel Yuuri taking in a shaky breath against his shoulder.

“It’s not stupid, Yuuri,” said Victor. “It’s perfectly normal and okay to feel distraught and unhappy after something like that. What happened to you was not stupid. Okay?”

Victor felt Yuuri nod against his shoulder. They remained silent for a moment, allowing Yuuri to calm down before continuing.

“After that happened, I decided not play anymore,” mumbled Yuuri. “I didn’t want to be known as the guy who threw away everything for his dog, so I just...quit. I didn’t want to be known as that. I decided to transfer to Ouran after that. Figured it would be a new start for me and also, going to Ouran would help me get into a good university, which would help me get a good job and help my family out. I really didn’t know you would be there too.”

Yuuri sighed.

“I hid it because I thought it was really stupid and embarrassing. I figured being the new transfer student, who’s also one of the scholarship students, would already separate me enough from everyone else. I didn’t want to be treated even worse because of it.”

Victor pulled Yuuri in tighter, pouring as much love and support as he could into the hug.

“I hadn’t meant to react that way to the Host Club, but I was really scared then. You’re all so nice to me and you’re my friends. None of you saw me like the lower class student that everyone else saw on the first day of class and I was worried that you would, if you knew about what happened, and I was even more scared when I found out who you were. I was just scared. You’re all far better than I deserve, but I was worried you would all be gone.”

Victor held on to Yuuri, both of them taking comfort in the embrace. While Yuuri remained silent and now slightly relieved since he had removed a heavy weight from his mind, Victor thought about everything that Yuuri had just told him. He could see just how much love Yuuri had for his family with how he wanted to win the competition for them and how he worked hard to get into Ouran to help them in the future, but Victor saw how much love Yuuri had for the Host Club as well. They hadn’t known each other for long, but Victor always considered them to be a family and could see that Yuuri felt the same way as well. He had formed a close bond with all of them, especially with how distraught everyone was about this whole ordeal, and he understood Yuuri’s fear of losing people so close to him. Eventually, Victor pulled away from Yuuri, but then moved his hands to cup his cheeks, like he’s always done, looking deeply into Yuuri’s eyes.

“Yuuri,” said Victor, “I know you’re worried about losing us, but know that we would never treat you differently because of this. Remember that we all knew who you were well before Kenjirou came and we never treated you any differently then, so we’ll never treat you any differently now. You came to us as Yuuri, so to us, you’re Yuuri. You’ll always be our Yuuri.”

Yuuri felt himself tearing up and before Victor knew it, Yuuri had thrown his arms around him and was hugging him tightly. Victor smiled before wrapping his arms around Yuuri and returning the hug, feeling Yuuri burrow his face further into his neck.

“Thank you,” whispered Yuuri, “and I’m sorry for acting that way.”

Victor shook his head. “We’re sorry too, Yuuri. We’re sorry for not telling you.”

* * *

 

Yuuri took a deep breath as he stood in front of Music Room 3, apprehension filling him. He hadn’t had the chance to fully explain everything to everyone yet, which is why he was here earlier than usual. After his conversation with Victor, Yuuri knew that the Host Club saw him for him and not for his past. He had seen Phichit in class earlier too and from the smile on his face, he knew his friend was only happy to see that he was doing okay, and assumed that the others would be just as relieved, but he was still scared about facing them, about seeing their reactions. He took another breath to try and calm himself, but he couldn’t seem to bring himself to open the door and enter it, like usual. He was about to turn around, when he felt someone place a hand on his shoulder. His eyes widened in fear, scolding himself for getting so distracted that he would miss the sound of approaching footsteps, and turned to see who his surpriser was. His look of shock soon turned into one of relief, when he realized it was only Victor.

“You alright?” asked Victor.

Yuuri wanted to nod, but ended up shrugging instead. Victor chuckled at this before moving to place his arm around Yuuri’s shoulders, pulling him in close. “It’s going to be okay, Yuuri.”

Yuuri gulped and then nodded, trusting Victor’s words. With his arm still around Yuuri’s shoulders, Victor reached out and opened the doors to Music Room 3. A flurry of rose petals danced in front of Yuuri’s face and he quickly waved his hand to brush them aside.

“Welcome to the Host Club!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so very much to everyone for their support and patience!
> 
> [dangcommaannie.tumblr.com](http://dangcommaannie.tumblr.com)


	5. Helping Hand

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes, things just don’t go the way we want them to and that’s okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The last time I updated was on my birthday, back in July...  
> I'm so sorry.  
> Life and school and everything have taken up more of my time than I thought it would and well. Here we are.
> 
> I also apologize because if this chapter were an episode, it would be a filler. It's also probably my shortest chapter as well. I was hoping to make this a bit more exciting, but nothing I came up with made sense or felt in character. I did what I could and you can probably tell that it's rushed, but it's done and that's what matters.
> 
> But on a more positive note! I'm graduating next month, so holy shit. I'm scared and terrified and I don't know what I'm doing, but on the bright side, that means I'll hopefully have more time to write and update, so hurray! Look forward to that!
> 
> Thank you all so very much for your endless patience and support. I know it's been a really long time and I deeply apologize for that. It's been rough on me too. I'm glad I finally got this up though.  
> As always, I have no beta, but this might be worse than usual because it is kind of rushed. So please let me know if there are any mistakes.

_ Come on. Come on. Come on! Almost there! _

Kenjirou ran as fast as he could down the corridors of Ouran, sliding his way between students to get to Music Room 3. He could hear a few of the girls yelping and some other people yelling at him as he ran past them, but he had no time to stop, only able to yell out a few quick apologies and continue on. He hoped he didn’t accidentally run into too many people as he ran though, but there was no time to waste. He had to get to the Host Club! Kenjirou’s face broke out into his usual broad grin as he came across the familiar ornate doors. Not bothering to knock, he burst through the doors causing the Host Club to all turn around, startled by the unexpected entrance.

“Yuuri!” exclaimed Kenjirou. The boy immediately tackled Yuuri with a hug, arms wrapped tightly around his waist. Yuuri was surprised, but his arms immediately moved to hug Kenjirou. “I’m so happy that you’re back! I’m really sorry, Yuuri! I really am!”

Yuuri smiled fondly at the boy who was burrowing his face into him and clutching him tightly. He had explained to Host Club and Kenjirou all about his past music experience and worries the other day. They all understood and supported him completely, making him love and appreciate them even more. He reassured them it was alright and that it wasn’t his fault, but Yuuri still found Kenjirou apologizing to him any moment that could.

“It’s okay, Kenjirou. I know you didn’t mean to cause any trouble.”

“But I’m really sorry, Yuuri!” sobbed Kenjirou. “I’m really sorry!”

The Host Club members watched with amusement, minus Yuri, who walked off and mumbled something about them being gross. This had been occurring regularly for the last couple of days at the Host Club, but no matter how many times they reassured the young boy that it was alright, he still came by to apologize to Yuuri. Knowing that after a few more minutes, Kenjirou would then pull himself off of Yuuri and move to one of the couches where he would watch the Host Club do their duties for the day, they all went back to work, setting up the tables like always.

“It’s okay, Kenjirou. It’s okay.”

Yuuri patted Kenjirou’s head. He then gently pulled his hands away since he still had some setting up to do and knew that Kenjirou wouldn’t be offended by the action. Yuuri began turning away, but heard Kenjirou gasp loudly behind him.

“Wait!”

Yuuri turned around and gave the boy a curious look, his head tilting to the side. Kenjirou’s outburst caught the attention of the other members as well.

“I felt really bad about what happened and I’ve been trying to find a way to make it up to you all and I think I finally have!”

Kenjirou’s comment caught the attention of the other Host Club members as well. They all looked over curiously at the two, waiting for the conversation to continue.

“Kenjirou, you don’t have to do that. We know you didn’t mean to cause any trouble. It’s fine.”

“But I want to do this!”

Unable to say no, Yuuri smiled politely and nodded. Running off to who knows where, Kenjirou quickly returned with a massive board. This caught the attention of the other members and they seen stood around Yuuri, all of them staring at the board. It was filled with various graphs and charts and numbers that made all of them grow weary just by looking at it. They looked over at Kenjirou who was smiling brightly, glad to have all of their attention.

“So I’ve been coming by to watch you all these last couple of days and wow! I’ve learned so much from each of you about pleasing people and everything! You’re all so incredible and cool and awesome!”

“Oh! Well, it’s nothing really,” spoke Victor. He waved a hand dismissively and blushed, but the Host Club all knew he was eating all of these compliments up. Yuri rolled his eyes at this, while the others all chuckled and shook their heads.

“However!”

Victor’s expression immediately transformed into one of utter betrayal. All of the members were laughing now. Chris placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

“However, I feel like you all could bring in even more people and I have an idea to help you with that!”

Kenjirou pulled out some glasses that were far too large on him, but were also clearly fake since they didn’t have any lenses either. He cleared his throat and straightened his tie. He then pulled out a pointer and began gesturing towards the charts and graphs.

“Over the last couple of days, I’ve been keeping track of how many guests each hosts receives each day. All of you are doing exceptional well and don’t have to worry about that, but I’ve also been surveying each of the guests and have been recording their preferences as well.”

He tapped at a chart with this pointer.

“From what I’ve gathered, most of the guests enjoy their preferred host or hosts, but they also want something more. Something exciting! Something new!”

Kenjirou’s grin grew wider. He began to shake with excitement.

“That’s why I’ve come up with this new project for you all!”

Flipping the board over dramatically, Kenjirou revealed that the other side was covered with headshots of each of the members and that each had a different description next to them.

“We’re going to make promotional videos for all of you! Each one will highlight a new side of you that will no doubt, bring in more guests.”

“Promotional videos? New sides?”

The Host Club all tilted their head in confusion, trying to figure out what exactly was going on.

“Yes! They’ll be like music videos, but they’ll focus on you and your new personas! It’ll be great! I’ve already got a team of people who are ready to help us out tomorrow! It’s gonna be great!”

“Wait. Tomorrow?” interrupted Phichit. “Tomorrow might be a bit...soon for us.” He turned to face Victor. “Isn’t that right?”

The rest of the members all turned to look at Victor, who was thinking deeply on the new suggestion. They all liked the idea, but it would be hard to find a way to fit it into their schedule. It was likely that they’d have to cancel another week as well. Not only that, some of them weren’t exactly sold on their new images either.

“Kenjirou,” Victor said suddenly. He turned to face the young boy with a serious expression. He walked towards him and everyone waited in anticipation about his decision. He stood and stared at Kenjirou for a beat and the boy stared up at him with wide eyes. Finally, Victor pulled him into a tight hug and spun him around.

“Kenjirou! You’re brilliant! This is perfect! I love it!” He suddenly dropped Kenjirou, who yelped in response. Yuuri and Phichit rushed over to help him up as Victor continued dancing around the room. “I’ve always wanted to be an actor! I knew it was meant to be! Let me show you all of my angles!”

Once back up, Kenjirou rushed over and joined Victor as well. The other members all sweatdropped as they watched their president and new friend dance around excitedly. Chris and Phichit both shared a look that simply said they should’ve known that Victor wouldn’t be able to say no to this. He was Victor after all.

“Guess I better go postpone some appointments again…”

* * *

**Operation Video Killed the Radio Star: Day 01 - The Lonely King**

“Kenjirou! I’m so excited! I spent all night preparing for this! Can we get started on my close-ups already?”

The Host Club all chuckled and shook their heads at this, minus Chris who looked dead on his feet. Noticing this, Yuuri turned to face him with a concerned look.

“Are you alright, Chris?”

“Yeah,” sighed Chris. “Just a bit tired. Victor isn’t kidding when he said he spent all night preparing.”

“What do you mean?”

“He texted me non-stop asking about which angle looked best on him and which make-up and outfits would look good too. He eventually tried to call me and I talked to him for a bit, but I finally just fell asleep on him. I don’t think he ever noticed though.”

The Host Club members nodded in understanding before turning back towards their club president, who was still jumping around excitedly. It certainly didn’t help that Kenjirou was doing the same as well.

The members then turned to take in everything around them. When Kenjirou said he had a team of people who would help, they certainly didn’t expect a full production crew to show up. Apparently, with Kenjirou’s parents being well-known doctors, they had been consulted more often than not for various medical TV shows and movies. Because of that connection, Kenjirou had easily gotten a hold of everyone here to help him.

“Okay, everyone! Places!”

The director’s booming voice immediately quieted everyone and sent them running to their places. Still uncertain of where to be, the Host Club stood to the side, awkwardly watching as everyone ran about. Victor was already standing in front of the camera, while a makeup artist put the finishing touches on his face. Kenjirou was sitting in a chair next to the director and camera. He was trying to look mature and serious, but it was clear he was trying to keep his excitement in check.

_ Guess this is really happening. _

“Take one.”

“Alright and action!”

Rain suddenly started pouring from who knows where and onto the set. The mood immediately darkened. The sound of thundered resonated through their hearts. Victor stood in the midst of all of this, soaking wet in his school uniform and staring off into the distance. The camera zoomed in on Victor’s face as he stared pensively, longingly at something unknown.

“What good is all of this?” muttered Victor. “What good is all of this if I have...no one to share it with?”

His hands clenched into fists and his jaw tightened as he finally looked down at the ground. He gave a strangled cry as he turned to hit the chain-linked fence next to him. Victor looked towards the camera and despite the rain, it was clear that he was crying now. His lips trembled as he tried to suppress his cries. He then collapsed to the ground, fists hitting the ground as he finally let out a painful cry.

“I have...no one. I am no one.”

The set was quiet for a beat. Everyone silently watching as Victor continued to cry in the rain. The director stood up suddenly. He knocked over his chair in the process, breaking the spell that Victor had placed on everyone.

“Yes! YES! You’re perfect! PERFECT!”

The rain stopped and Victor stood up suddenly. His expression was so bright and cheery that you wouldn’t have known he had been crying, unless you were there yourself.

“Really?! You mean it?!” exclaimed Victor. He hadn’t even noticed that some of the crew were now attempting to dry him off and get him into some dry clothing.

“Victor! You were so cool!” added Kenjirou. His eyes were wide as he stared at Victor in admiration.

“I’m so glad! I spent all night working on those lines! You won’t even believe how long it took me to get those lines just right! And don’t even get me started on finding my angles!”

“Well, it paid off! You were perfect!” said the director.

“Yay!”

As the director, Kenjirou, and Victor continued discussing some future takes, the Host Club members all remained silent, searching for the proper words.

“Well...that was…” started Phichit.

“Stupid?”

“Intense?”

“Extra?”

“Interesting?”

“Interesting,” nodded Phichit. “Definitely interesting…”

The members said nothing more, only nodding in agreement as they watched the crew run around once again. This was certainly going to be interesting.

* * *

**Operation Video Killed the Radio Star: Day 02 - The Loyal Playboy**

“Isn’t the Loyal Playboy an oxymoron?” asked Yuri.

“Well…” said Kenjirou.

“But also, what exactly does it mean?” asked Chris. “Does it mean I’m a man who’s loyal to his playboy ways or am I a playboy who’s loyal to one person?

“Umm…”

“But,” interrupted Phichit, “being a playboy implies non-attachment, so wouldn’t the loyal thing make it all invalid?”

“Wait…”

“So maybe it’s the first one then,” added Otabek. “He’s loyal to his playboy ways.”

“Hold on…”

“But still, how would it work for the second one?” asked Victor.

“Guys…”

The members all continued to analyze Chris’s new moniker, completely ignoring Kenjirou. The young boy sighed. He thought it had been a good idea. Noticing his dejected state, Yuuri came over and pulled the boy into a one-armed hug.

“You might have to cancel today’s shoot.”

“Yeah…”

* * *

**Operation Video Killed the Radio Star: Day 03 - The Gentle Stoic**

A petting zoo's worth of baby animals certainly wasn’t what the members were expecting to see when they showed up on set that day, but that’s what happened. Immediately, all of them were bombarded with puppies, kittens, bunnies, and other tiny animals that were all curious to see who the newcomers were.

“Kenjirou,” called out Phichit, “what are all of these animals doing here?”

“They’re here for Otabek!” exclaimed the boy from beneath a pile of puppies who were happily licking at his face. “He’s going to be playing with baby animals today.”

“Why?” asked Otabek.

“Because you’re going to be the Gentle Stoic! He may appear to be the cool and silent type, but deep down, he’s soft and kind and cares for all!” exclaimed Kenjirou. “We were gonna go with the Gentle Giant, but you’re not exactly that tall, Otabek.”

The Host Club all looked between themselves and Otabek. They don’t know why they hadn’t noticed it before, but Otabek was actually within the shorter side of the group. Compared to Chris and Victor’s height, Otabek was practically a Hobbit.

“Huh.”

“Yeah. Once I noticed that, it felt weird calling him a Gentle Giant,” admitted Kenjirou. “But I made it work.”

“Isn’t Otabek kind of always a Gentle Stoic though?” mused Yuuri.

Kenjirou only shrugged before turning his attention back towards the animals. He began counting all of them, but paused midway through.

“Wait a minute. I thought we had ten kittens on set today.”

All eyes immediately went to Yuri, who shrugged and shook his head.

“I didn’t do anything.”

The Host Club all gave the young boy knowing looks. They could all clearly see one of his jacket pockets moving about and him trying to just his arm to cover it up.

“I swear! I didn’t do anything!”

“Mew! Mew!”

“God dammit.” Yuri pulled the tiny kitten from out of his pocket. It moved all about, trying to get away. “I thought I told you to keep quiet!”

* * *

**Operation Video Killed the Radio Star: Day 04 - The Rebel Princess**

“Are you fucking kidding me?! What kind of persona is the Rebel Princess?! Why couldn’t you give me something cooler?!”

“But Yuri! It is cool! It’s a reference to Leia from Star Wars! The guests are going to love it!”

“But why does it have to be princess?! I don’t want to be a princess!”

The members all watched as Yuri continued to argue with Kenjirou over his new persona. The concept came from the idea that Yuri wasn’t content with his pretty type image, which was true, but the members all silently agreed that Kenjirou could’ve chosen a better name for him.

“Kenjirou,” said Phichit as he walked up to the two of them, “the reference is nice and all, but maybe you could change it to something that Yuri would like more. Like...um…”

“The Rebel Tiger!” exclaimed Yuri.

“Yeah. Why not something like that?”

Kenjirou pouted at this. “But I spent so long coming up with these for you guys!”

“I don’t care!” shouted Yuri. “This is all stupid anyway!”

“Oh Yuri. Don’t be-” began Phichit.

With that, Yuri began stomping off the set. Phichit was immediately following, trying to get him to calm down and come back, but the other members knew it would be useless. Looking over at Kenjirou, Yuuri walked over and patted the boy on the shoulder.

“I think we’re gonna have to skip Yuri’s part for now.”

* * *

**Operation Video Killed the Radio Star: Day 05 - The Pining Prince**

Out of all of the personas chosen so far, Phichit’s was the one that caused the most confusion amongst all of the members. They all knew it didn’t have to be true to life, but none of them could comprehend how it applied to Phichit and neither could he.

“So,” asked Phichit, “what exactly am I pining for?”

The director huffed and stood up, throwing his copy of the script onto this chair. His frustration was growing due to how many questions had been asked today.

“For the last time,” growled the director, “just think about a certain lady friend that you weren’t able to get with or you aren’t able to get with. You need to feel the pain of not being able to be with the person you want to be with.”

“But there’s no one in my life like that,” said Phichit. “What do I do then?”

“Just pretend, kid!”

“But-”

“That’s the whole point of acting! It’s not real! Just pretend!” yelled the director.

“I know,” said Phichit. “But it’s just kind of hard for me to get into this role since I don’t really have a connection with it.”

“Then, make up a connection! Just make someone up! Make anything up! Just do something, kid!”

“But-”

“Oh! For fuck’s sake!” Everyone on set jumped at the sound of the director knocking over his chair. “I give up! I’m done!”

He angrily threw his script on the ground before knocking over another chair. Some of the crew went over to try and calm him down, but he merely shoved them out of the way as he stomped away.

“I’m sorry…”

* * *

**Operation Video Killed the Radio Star: Day 06 - The Secret Genius**

“Where’s Yuuri? Has anyone seen Yuuri?”

“Has anyone seen the director? He hasn’t called all morning!”

The set was chaotic today. Everyone was madly running around in search of the missing people. Phones went off every few seconds as people made phone calls, trying to find the whereabouts of Yuuri and the director. No one was certain of what happened, but most people assumed the worst.

After the issues with Phichit’s shoots yesterday, the director had made a comment about not showing up tomorrow because he had had enough of this “stupid project.” They all thought nothing of it since he had made the same comment earlier in the week as well, but enough was enough, they supposed. It looked like he was really not going to show up today since no one could get a hold of him and no one had been contacted by him either. Lacking a director made it a bit difficult for Kenjirou, who was essentially in charge now, but, to be honest, he didn’t really care for the man anyway. Award winning director or not, the man was a dick.

Yuuri was another issue and Kenjirou was blaming himself for all of it. Having been the one to create the personas, Kenjirou thought it would be a good idea to showcase Yuuri’s piano skills in some way. He thought Yuuri would be fine with it since he had come out to the Host Club members and everything, but now that Yuuri wasn’t on set, Kenjirou realized that he had made a terrible mistake and was currently beating himself up over it.

_ I just keep on making everything worse. _

Suddenly, the world around Kenjirou began to spin. He started to feel nauseous and dizzy. His heart was beginning to pick up and his breathing was shallow. He was consciously aware that he was fainting, but before he knew it, the world was going dark and the last thing he remembered seeing was the ground.

* * *

_ Where am I? What happened? What’s going on? _

Things were still a mystery when Kenjirou finally woke up. He half expected to find himself still on the ground, but instead, he found himself resting on a couch with some lush pillows. He tried to sit up quickly and sort out his surroundings, but was stopped by hand on his shoulder. The hand gently moved to his back to help support him as he sat up slowly this time. Still out of it, he couldn’t quite make out who it was until they spoke.

“Shh. Easy there, Kenjirou,” Yuuri said softly. “You passed out earlier and we gotta make sure you’re alright. Okay?”

“Yuuri?” asked Kenjirou. He had to be dreaming now. “What are you doing here? I thought you missed out on the shoot.”

“Well…”

Some snickering was heard and that was when Kenjirou realized the rest of the Host Club was there as well. All of them standing around the two of protectively. None of the crew was around and it looked as if the set had been taken down as well. What was going on?

“Kenjirou, the things is…” began Yuuri sheepishly.

“Yuuri thought about skipping out on the shoot!” blurted Yuri. The boy was impatient as always and earned himself a stern look from Victor, Chris, and Phichit.

“You did?”

“Umm…”

“But he didn’t meant to,” interrupted Phichit. “Yuuri actually decided he wanted to do the shoot, but then-”

“Then, I accidentally set my alarm to the wrong time. Sorry.” Yuuri looked away as he said this. “I didn’t mean to cause any trouble for you and everyone else.”

“And what about everyone else? The director? The crew?”

“The director eventually showed up, hungover, so we just sent him and the crew home,” answered Victor. He gave Kenjirou a gentle smile. “We figured we’ve had a more than exciting week, so yeah. Everything’s been cleaned up already though, so there’s no need to worry about that.”

Kenjirou nodded.  _ So that’s what happened. _ He let out a small sigh of relief, knowing that he hadn’t caused Yuuri any more issues. However, Kenjirou still felt incredibly guilty about everything that had happened. He hadn’t realized he had begun crying until he noticed someone holding out a handkerchief for him. Rather than take it, Kenjirou shook his head and angry wiped away his tears on his sleeve. Immediately, Yuuri and Phichit were by his side on the couch

“I’m sorry,” sobbed Kenjirou. “I just wanted to help, but I just caused even more trouble for you all. I’m so sorry.”

Phichit promptly pulled the boy into a hug and Yuuri began rubbing circles on his back. Victor, Chris, and Otabek were now all kneeling by his side, patting him gently. Yuri, not one for tears, had run off to get him a glass of water.

“It’s not your fault,” said Phichit. “Sometimes, things just don’t go the way we want them to and that’s okay.”

“But-”

“He’s right, Kenjirou,” spoke Victor. “We all know you meant well, so don’t worry. You did nothing wrong.”

“We should really be the ones apologizing anyway,” added Yuuri. “You went through all of this trouble for us and we messed it up for you. We’re really sorry.”

“Yeah. We’re sorry, Kenjirou,” nodded Chris.

Kenjirou’s tears had subsided and he finally looked up at all of the Host Club members. He thought they may have been lying, but seeing the kind looks on all of their faces, he knew they only wanted what was best for him. Kenjirou felt himself wanting to cry even more when Yuri came back with, not only a glass of water, but some of the cookies that he liked as well. He had done nothing, but caused them trouble and yet they all cared so much about him.

Kenjirou opened his mouth to try and find the words to show his appreciation to them, but all that came out was a strangled cry. He tried again to come up with words, but Victor cut him off before he could.

“We know, Kenjirou. We know.”

Kenjirou tried to speak again, but eventually stopped himself. They knew and understood him, so no other words were needed. Instead, he nodded excitedly, knowing that he had a group of friends who cared. The Host Club smiled at this, knowing that Kenjirou was feeling better now. With no more words needed between them, Kenjirou pulled Phichit and Yuuri into hugs, which were then joined by the remaining members as well.

As Kenjirou left the Host Club that day, he was filled with an overwhelming love for his new friends, but he was also filled with some regrets as well.

If only he could’ve done more for them...

* * *

“Have you all seen the videos yet?”

“Not yet! But I got to see some of Victor’s! It was so tragic!”

“I got to see part of Otabek’s! I never knew he was so kind and caring!”

“Don’t get me started on Phichit! I can only imagine how hard it’s been for him.”

Kenjirou looked around in confusion when he entered Music Room 3. He couldn’t believe what his ears were picking up. All around him, guests were excitedly discussing the video personas he had created for the Host Club. Were people really talking about the videos? He thought those were thrown out. What was going on?

“Sounds like the reception on the videos were better than expected.”

Kenjirou turned in surprise to see Phichit and Chris smiling at him. The older of the two patted him on the shoulder.

“Good call on those personas,” commented Chris with a wink. “The Loyal Playboy thing worked out better than I thought it would.”

“How? Why? What? Huh?” stuttered Kenjirou. He turned around suddenly when he felt an arm wrap around his shoulders. His eyes met with Victor’s, who was smiling as well.

“After you left, we felt it would be a waste to forget about all of the footage we had shot with you,” answered Victor. “So with a bit of editing, we were able to come up with a pretty decent set of videos for the guests to purchase. All credited to you, of course, since this was all your vision to begin with.”

“But, but, but what about Yuuri’s part?”

“Otabek, Yuri, and I just shot that on our own.”

Kenjirou turned to find Yuuri smiling at him with Otabek at his side and a mildly grumpy Yuri on his other.

“We had to change the piano part to me just being a smart student, but it all worked out,” continued Yuuri. “Yuri helped me with wardrobe.”

“Whatever. I only did it because you need all the help you can get,” sneered Yuri. The comment didn’t affect Yuuri’s good mood though, only making him smile even more.

“And you did a very good job, Yuri.”

Not used to the complement, Yuri’s cheeks grew red at this, making the members all laugh. Overwhelmed with emotion again, Kenjirou began crying before blindly pulling all of the Host Club members into a giant group hug. He wanted to ask them why they did this for him, but he already knew the answer. They cared. They actually cared about him and the thought of that was more than enough to bring Kenjirou enough joy to last him a lifetime.

“You guys are all so great! I love you so much! Thank you! Thank you!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for your endless support and patience! <3  
> I'll try to not make you wait over 4 months for the next chapter!
> 
> [dangcommaannie.tumblr.com](http://dangcommaannie.tumblr.com)   
>  [Updates](http://dangcommaannie.tumblr.com/tagged/annie-writes-updates)   
>  [Extras](http://dangcommaannie.tumblr.com/tagged/kiss-kiss-katsudon-extras)


	6. Double Trouble

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In calm or stormy weather;  
> To cheer one on the tedious way,  
> To fetch one if one goes astray,  
> To lift one if one totters down,  
> To strengthen whilst one stands.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, in the previous chapter, I said I would try to not make you all wait over 4 months for a chapter and I failed. I made you all wait 7 months for this.  
> I'm so sorry. I'm really sorry.
> 
> If you haven't been following my updates on tumblr, I did graduate in December and I thought that would mean I would have more time to write, but it's hard to write when you're depressed. It's been a rough 6 months for me and to be honest, I'm still not well. I'm still struggling with a lot of different things right now, which has made it hard to find the motivation to do anything. This isn't an excuse. Just a reason.  
> But it's gotten a bit better. Not much, but it's something. It was enough for me to finish this chapter.
> 
> In other news though, a year ago, I posted the first chapter of this story, so yay for that! (Well, according to AO3, it's the same date. In my time zone, I'm about an hour off, but it's close enough.)
> 
> I'm really sorry once again for the lack of updates. I can't guarantee if they'll be more frequent, but I'm going to keep trying. I want to write this story and I want to finish this story, but it'll take some time. I'm going to do my best.  
> Thank you so very much to all of you who have been waiting patiently. I don't deserve your kindness.
> 
> As always, I have no beta, so let me know if there are any mistakes.

“And then what did you do?”

“I punched him, of course!” explained Mila cheerfully. Yuuri stared at her with wide-eyes, mouth agape. Across from him, Mila continued sipping her tea casually. She smiled happily before reaching to grab one of the cookies to munch on. “I mean, he deserved it for cheating on me and everything, so whatever.”

Yuuri nodded, taking a sip of his own tea. “I’m sorry that happened to you, Mila.”

“Meh,” Mila shrugged. “I had my suspicions anyway. He’d been a bit distant lately, so yeah.”

“Well, I’m glad you’re taking this well.”

Mila smiled at Yuuri and he returned it.

“To be honest, I was kinda waiting for the chance to break up with him anyway, so really, I gotta thank him for giving me the chance to do that. Besides, he deserved it.”

“Agreed,” nodded Yuuri.

Mila raised her teacup up to Yuuri, like a toast, and the two of them laughed as they clinked them together. They both took another sip, savoring the hot tea.

“Alright. Enough about me,” said Mila. “How are you, Yuuri? Everything good? I like the new kid you got at the Host Club.”

The two of them glanced over at Kenjirou. The young boy was happily bounding around the room with a clipboard in hand. After the videos were released, it was decided that Kenjirou would be joining the Host Club as their part-time manager. His job was to now assist Phichit in his duties, which then gave him more time to focus on customers, and also help out Victor in his creative duties. Kenjirou was a natural at what he did and his bubbly personality quickly made him popular among the guests.

Mila and Yuuri watched as the young boy spoke to one of the guests. He then quickly spend off to the kitchen, returning with a tray of a cookies, which he immediately presented to them. Kenjirou quickly began rattling off every type of cookie he had on the tray along with his opinion on all of them. Mila and Yuuri couldn’t help but laugh at his enthusiasm before turning to face each other again.

“Things are going well,” nodded Yuuri. “Same as always, but that’s good too. The Host Club-”

“Mickey, stop! Leave me alone!”

“I’m just worried, Sara!”

Muffled yelling was heard outside the music room and caught the attention of  everyone. The sound of the doors to the room slamming open caused everyone to jump. They all turned to see Sara quickly stomping in, an angry expression on her face. Behind her, Michele came running after her. Yuuri and Mila watched as Sara made a beeline towards where they were and sat down with a huff. The two of them shared worried looks before turning their attention back to their friends.

“Well, don’t! I’m fine!”

“You don’t know that, Sara!”

“And you don’t know either, Mickey! Just go already!”

Sara refused to look her brother and was glaring at a spot on the wall instead. Michele opened his mouth to say something, but closed it once he realized how big of a scene they were causing. Instead, he crossed his arms and huffed.

“Fine. I’ll go,” he said. “But we’re gonna talk about this later.”

Sara refused to look in his direction, still angry. Michele huffed once more before stomping out of the room, slamming the doors closed. Everyone turned to look at Sara, who was still glaring at the wall. She finally realized that everyone was staring at her and directed her glare at the rest of the room instead.

“What?” she snapped.

Everyone quickly averted their gazes, trying to pretend they hadn’t witnessed what just happened. They turned back to their previous conversations, but it was clear they wanted to talk about the elephant in the room.

Sara turned back to glare at the wall again, jaw clenched and fists tight. Yuuri and Mila looked at each other with concern. Both of them were clearly worried about their friend, but both were hesitant about how to start.

Mila spoke first. “Sara?” She reached a hand towards her friend.

Yuuri and Mila pulled back, gasping, when Sara quickly turned to glare at them. “What do you want?” she growled.

Mila’s mouth opened and closed as she tried to search for the right words. She turned to Yuuri, who had reached for the plate of sweets and was holding it before him, hands shaking.

“C-cookie?” he stuttered.

Sara’s angry expression remained. Yuuri and Mila both pulled back a bit more, bracing for her to yell at them.

“Waaaaaahhh!!”

Mila and Yuuri weren’t sure what shocked them more: Sara’s sudden shift in emotions or her launching herself into Yuuri’s arms. Luckily, Yuuri was able to pass the plate of cookies to Mila and wrap his arms around Sara. They were both now aware of the sound Sara sobbing into Yuuri’s shoulder. Mila got up and moved next to Sara, patting her back, while Yuuri hugged her, allowing her to let everything out.

“Sara?”

“I hate him! I hate him! I hate him!” she sobbed into Yuuri’s shoulder. “He never lets me do anything!”

Sara continued to cry as Yuuri and Mila did their best to comfort their friend, patiently waiting for her tears to subside. Both of them shared worried looks. Sara and Michele have always been close and everyone knew that. They had their fair share of arguments and disagreements, like all siblings do, but never to this extent.

Soon, Sara’s tears became sniffles. She gently pulled herself away from Yuuri, furiously rubbing her at face, trying to wipe away any remaining tears. Mila handed her a tissue.

“I’m sorry, you guys,” sniffed Sara. “I’m sorry for causing any trouble and I’m sorry I got your uniform all wet, Yuuri.”

“It’s okay. You didn’t mean to,” said Yuuri. He rubbed her back as Mila reached for her friend’s hand, drawing circles on her knuckles. Sara nodded in understanding, but it was clear she still felt bad about it.

“Sara,” said Mila, “what happened? What’s wrong?”

Sara shook her head. “Nothing. Mickey is just being a jerk.”

“Never enough to make you this angry and sad though,” said Yuuri. “We don’t want to push you, but we’re worried, Sara. We just want to make sure you two are okay.”

Sara bit her lip nervously, hesitating. She wanted to object, but upon seeing how concerned.  Mila and Yuuri were, Sara took a deep breath and began explaining.

“You guys know Emil, right?” They nodded. “Well, he invited the two of us to go rock climbing with him. He always talks about how fun it is, so I wanted to see what it was about. But Mickey didn’t want to go and I thought it’d be fine, but then he got angry because I still wanted to go. Then, I got angry because who was he to tell me what to do? I want to go rock climbing, so I’m gonna go rock climbing!”

Tears began falling down Sara’s face again and Yuuri quickly handed her a tissue. Mila pulled her into a hug, rocking her gently.

“I don’t get it! He’s just been so annoying lately!” sobbed Sara. “You know I didn’t mean what I said earlier about hating Mickey, but I’m just so frustrated right now. He’s never like this.”

“What do you mean lately? Has this been happening often?” asked Mila.

Sara nodded. “You know Mickey has always been a bit protective of me, but lately, he just seems...more intense.”

“Intense?”

“Yeah,” nodded Sara. “I don’t know what it is, but he’s just been more... _ more _ lately. The other week, I decided to stop by and see what the ballroom dance club was like. I didn’t bother mentioning it to him because he’s never liked dancing and when he found out, he got angry with me for not telling him. Then, he tried to make me go with him to calligraphy club, even though he knows I’m not interested in that kind of thing.”

Sara looked away sadly, shoulders sagging. She then took a deep breath, quickly ridding herself of the sad look and putting on a small smile. Mila and Yuuri tried to return it, but both of them were still concerned.

“But it’s whatever,” continued Sara. She waved a hand dismissively. “We get into fights all the time. We’ll sort it out later. We just need some time to calm down.”

Yuuri opened his mouth to say something, but was surprised to be cut off by Mila shaking her head. He expected Mila to say something as well, but instead, she remained silent, marking the end of that conversation. The topic was then quickly shifted onto something else by Sara and the three of them chatted like always. Things seemed to be alright for now, but there was an undeniable tension between all of them.

* * *

“Is Sara doing alright?”

Yuuri and Mila shrugged causing Phichit to frown, the later deciding to stick around after the other guests and Kenjirou had left. They were now all seated with the rest of the hosts.

“I mean, she said she was fine, but I’m not too sure,” sighed Yuuri. He turned to Mila, who nodded.

“Yeah. We all know Sara and Michele have had their fair share of arguments, but this one,” Mila paused, fidgeting with her hands, “this one might be different. I’ve been friends with them since the start of high school, but I’ve never seen anything like this”

“Different is a good way to describe it,” said Chris. “I’ve known the twins for a while now too, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen them get this worked up before either.”

Everyone nodded, pondering the words.

“Should we do something then?” asked Phichit. The question was directed towards the whole group, but he was looking at Victor as he asked it. “They’re our friends.”

They all turned to look at Victor, who had a pensive look on his face. He eventually sighed and shook his head.

“No,” said Victor. “Not yet at least. It certainly was odd to see them yelling like that, but they could also be working it out at home right now. They might be fine by tomorrow, but if it progresses...we’ll see. We shouldn’t meddle in this.”

Victor leaned forward to rest his elbow on his knee and his chin on his hand. His expression remained tense as he pondered the whole situation. Everyone else was mildly shocked by Victor’s response, having expected him to immediately spring into action, but they all knew he was right as well. Right now, it was too soon.

* * *

“Did you hear? The Crispinos are fighting.”

“I know! I heard they actually showed up separately today.”

“You think I’ll finally have a chance with Mickey now? I’ve heard about how he kept telling other girls that he couldn’t date because of Sara, so do you think he’d be open to it now?”

Yuuri frowned as he overheard the conversations happening around him. He had gotten to class early to quickly look over some notes in preparation, but instead, he found himself surrounded by gossip about Sara and Michele. He did his best to stay focused on his notes, but he couldn’t help but overhear some of the things being said, out of concern for his friends.

Growing up with an older sibling, Yuuri could somewhat relate, having gotten into his fair share of arguments with Mari. However, he and Mari have never gotten into a full blown argument like this before and he had to wonder if maybe the reason why Sara and Michele’s fight is so intense is because of the fact that they were twins. Being born together would give them a connection that Yuuri and Mari wouldn’t be able to full understand since there was a seven year age gap between the two of them.

Yuuri sighed and shook his head, trying to turn his attention back to his notes. Phichit walked in a few minutes later. Yuuri gave him a small smile and a wave, but his friend was frowning. Yuuri nodded, realizing that Phichit must have heard some of the news about the twins as well. He watched as Phichit sat down next to him, sighing.

“Any word from Sara or Michele?”

Phichit nodded. “Sara said she’d come by today, but that’s it. Nothing else.” He sighed, crossing his arms. Yuuri’s brow furrowed with concern, not used to seeing his cheerful friend unhappy. “I peeked into their class since I had to talk to Victor anyway, but they still aren’t talking to each other from what I could tell.”

“I see.” The two of them fell silent. “Do you think they’ll be okay?”

Phichit said nothing and that told Yuuri all that he needed to know.

* * *

Yuuri hoped that maybe things would mellow out by lunchtime. Class would require them to focus on something else besides their fight and with how dull some lessons could be, it could potentially give them some more time to mull things over.

He was wrong.

Instead, when Yuuri arrived in the lunchroom that day, he barely managed to dodge getting hit by a bowl of the soup of the day. Once calmer, Yuuri looked around to find the twins in the midst of another argument, this one more physical than the other as they continued to throw their lunches at the other, while everyone did their best to keep clean.

He spotted some of the other Host Club members across the room, hiding behind a table. They seemed mostly clean, but he could see Otabek helping Yuri get some pasta out of his hair. Kenjirou’s jacket now had a mysterious green stain on the back as well.

“I don’t want to talk, Mickey!”

“We’re going to talk, Sara!”

“I just want to eat my lunch!”

“Maybe you shouldn’t throw it then!”

“Shut up, Mickey!”

Yuuri sighed upon witnessing all of this. Things were definitely not going well for Sara and Michele, and it only seemed to be getting worse.

* * *

“Sara! Just listen to me!”

“I’m done, Mickey!”

The Host Club all looked at each other with concern, pausing in the midst of their set up, before jumping at the sound of the door slamming open. None of them were surprised to see the twins stomping in again. Sara was making her way to Yuuri’s designated area, but was stopped by her brother pulling her back. She pulled his hand off her arm and turned to glare angrily at him.

“What do you mean you’re done?” asked Michele.

“I mean I’m done!” Sara yelled back. “I’m sick of this, Mickey! Just because we’re related doesn’t mean you have to constantly be with me!”

“Sara-”

“Enough! I’m done! I hate you! I can’t wait to graduate because I’ll finally be away from you!”

Michele pulled back in shock at this, as if he had been punched in the stomach. All of the Host Club could feel a strong sense of unease in the room. Something was very wrong.

Phichit quickly rushed over, placing himself between the two of them. He gently tried to guide them over to one of the couches, but they both pushed him away, eyes still fixated on the other. Michele decided to break the silence, clearly unable to accept what his twin had just said.

“Sara, you don’t mean-”

“Leave, Michele,” interrupted Sara. Her voice was low, but it seemed louder due to how silent the room was.  Michele’s strangled gasp was amplified by this fact as well. “Leave. I don’t want to talk to you.”

“Sara,” whispered Michele. He reached a hand out towards Sara, but she slapped it away. She then turned away from him, hiding her expression. Michele couldn’t see it, but from where he was sitting, Yuuri could see that their expressions matched, both of them struggling to fight back tears.

“Leave, please.”

Michele nodded, even though he knew Sara couldn’t see it. Chris came over to help Michele, but Michele put up a hand to stop him. Instead, he silently turned around and walked out of the room, carefully closing the door behind him and leaving the Host Club in shock of what had occurred.

Once the door was fully closed, Sara promptly fell to her knees, having held her up for so long. The sound of her struggling to keep her sobbing down was heartbreaking.The Host Club members immediately sprung into action, doing their best to comfort her.

Yuuri held Sara close to him, doing his best to comfort her. Phichit joined them, after doing something on his phone. Chris and Victor were on the floor near them as well, watching over with concern. Otabek and Yuri soon came with a glass of water and a box of tissues for her.

The doors suddenly opened the members all looked up, expecting to see Michele, but were met with a concerned Mila instead. It only took her a second to take in the situation before she was on the floor as well, holding Sara close alongside Yuuri.

“Hey, it’s okay. We’re here. Don’t worry.”

Sara continued to cry, but nodded slightly upon hearing Mila’s whispers. No one spoke aside from Sara’s crying. All of them waiting with worry. Eventually, Sara’s sobbing subsided, but she remained seated in Mila and Yuuri’s embrace.

“Thank you,” Sara said through a few leftover sniffles. “I’m sorry for being such a mess.”

“You have no reason to apologize, Sara,” spoke Victor. “We understand and we’re here for you.”

Sara nodded and gave a small smile.

“Do you want to talk about what happened?”

Sara sighed this time, but nodded once more. Her hands played with the poofy skirt of her dress as she tried to sort through her words.

“Mickey and I got into another argument again.”

“You want me to punch him?” interrupted Mila.

Her unexpected words caused everyone to laugh, lightening the mood in the room. Sara gave her a small shove, but was smiling more than they had seen in some time. She shook her head, rejecting Mila’s offer.

“Alright, but if you ever need me to punch someone, I’m always happy to do it for you.”

Sara gave a small smile at this. She nodded once again and turned back to look at everyone else. Her shoulders fell as she gave another sigh.

“Mickey and I were talking about what we might like to do after graduating.”

Immediately, all of the third years in the room groaned at the reminder, which caused another round of laughter.

“I know. I know,” said Sara. “I don’t want to think about it either, but Mickey and I were talking about it. I mentioned that I might want to take a year off before deciding what I wanted to do and he got really angry at me because he wanted me to go to college with him!”

Sara clenched her fists as she thought back to her argument with her brother. Mila gently reached out to hold her one of her hands. Tears were starting to well up again and Chris quickly handed her another tissue.

“He started yelling at me and telling me that I had to go and study advertising since he was going to study business management! Said it’d be good since we’d both end up working for the family company anyway! Well maybe that’s not what I want! Maybe I don’t want to help run a talent agency! Maybe there’s something else that I want to do!”

Sara was now sobbing once again. Mila pulled her close, rocking her gently, as Yuuri patted her back.

“I didn’t mean it when I said I hated him, but I’m just so frustrated right now. Why can’t he see that I don’t want what he wants?”

Sara fell silent, wiping away her tears once again. All of the members were silent as they thought on their own experiences, most of them having siblings as well. It was hard to be certain of the reason behind Michele’s actions.

“Maybe he’s worried,” remarked Phichit. “Michele is your older brother and he’s always looked out for you. He could be worried about what might happen to you if he’s not around.”

The others nodded, but Sara only sighed. Her reaction showed that she already knew this.

“I know,” Sara said. “I’m not surprised, but the thing is that I also know we can’t always be together.” She looked down at her hands. “Mickey and I were born together, but we’re two separate people, not one. We have to separate at some point.”

The room fell silent again. No one knew how to respond, but they all knew that Sara was right. They may be twins, but they were two separate beings. Sooner or later, their paths would part. The bigger question was whether these paths would run parallel to each other or if they would diverge into completely different directions.

* * *

The rest of the time in the Host Club was spent in silence, letting them all contemplate and ponder. It soon came time for everyone to leave and they did so with reluctance, all of them worried for their friends. They all walked in one large group surrounding Sara as they walked to the front of the school to head home. Mila and Victor were in the midst of reminding Sara once again that she could call them if she needed anything, when they heard a familiar voice coming from the garden.

“This is all your fault, Emil!”

“Me?”

Sara rushed off immediately and the others were quick to follow. They all hoped that Michele and Emil were only in the middle of a yelling match, but instead, they came in at the exact moment Michele was trying to grab Emil.

“Mickey, stop!”

Frozen in shock, Sara could only stand and stare at the scene before her. The Host Club members and Mila all jumped in to intervene, with Otabek and Chris pulling the two apart, while the others placed themselves between them to keep them apart. Michele continued to struggle against Chris.

“Mickey, what do you think you’re doing?!”

Michele paid no attention to his sister and continued trying to reach for Emil. From his expression, they could tell that Emil had no clue as to what was going on and the reason behind Michele’s actions.

“Let me go!” growled Michele. Chris continued to hold him firmly and Otabek had gone over to help him. He thrashed around even more, nearly hitting the other two in the process. “Sara wouldn’t hate me if it weren’t for him!”

“I have no idea what I did!” exclaimed Emil.

“You know exactly what you did!”

“I don’t! I really don’t!”

“It’s all your-”

“Mickey!” yelled Sara. Her voice cutting through all of the commotion. “Stop it!”

Mickey reached out to try and reach Emil again, but thought twice about it. Instead, he pulled back, staying still within Chris and Otabek’s hold of him.

“Sara, you know-”

“I don’t care, Mickey!”

“Sara-”

“And if it’s anyone’s fault, it’s yours!”

“Sara, please!” Mickey cried. “I’m just-”

“I don’t want to talk about this anymore, Mickey!”

Sara turned and walked away as she said this. She said nothing, only grabbing Mila’s hand as she left, and pulled her along as well.

“Sara, please.”

There was no response and before they knew it, Sara and Mila were gone. Otabek and Chris had let go of Michele a while ago, but it seems he hadn’t realized it until now as he collapsed to the ground. He covered his face with his hands and everyone could hear the distinct sound of him crying. Emil was the first to approach him and the others followed shortly.

“Hey, Mickey. What’s wrong?” Emil asked gently. He sat next to his friend and patted back. “What’s up?”

Michele shook his head. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, Emil.”

“It’s okay. I know you didn’t mean it. Tell us what happened.”

Michele shook his head again and tried to turn away from his friend, but Emil quickly pulled him into a hug.

“It’s all my fault, Emil. It’s all my-”

The words were cut off by another sob.

“It’s alright. Take your time.”

Michele nodded, taking deep breaths to calm himself down. Emil looked down sadly at his friend before turning his attention to the Host Club. His eyes silently asked them if they knew what was wrong, but they all apologetically looked down. They only had pieces.

“I didn’t mean to hurt Sara.” Michele’s voice was barely a whisper, hoarse from crying, but it caught the attention of everyone. “I’m just scared.”

“Scared of what?”

“Scared of losing her.”

Emil pulled his best friend closer to him. Someone held out a tissue for Michele and Emil handed it to his friend whose face was still buried in his shoulder. He leaned away when Emil tapped him gently and hurriedly wiped his face.

“We’re about to graduate and I’ve been more worried, ya know. Like what’s going to happen to us? Where will we go? What are we doing to do? But then…”

Michele paused.

“But then that grew and I started to wonder what would happen if...Sara and I got separated and then never saw each other again. What do I do then?”

“Mickey…”

“When you asked us if we wanted to go rock climbing, I think that was when everything just sorta...happened. Sara wanted to go and I didn’t. We rarely disagree, but...I was already worried about what might happen, so I...snapped.” Michele looked like he was about to cry again, but he did his best to hold back his tears. “I didn’t meant to. I really didn’t mean to. I’m just really scared about the fact that everything is changing.”

“Mickey,” said Emil, “you’re never going to lose, Sara. She’s your sister, your twin sister.”

“I know,” Michele sighed. He looked down at his hands, playing with the tissue. “I know. But what if I do lose her? I’ve been nothing but a jerk to her lately. You’ve all seen how we’ve been the last couple of days and now...she might really be gone.”

Emil opened his mouth to speak, but struggled to find the right words. He looked to the Host Club members for help. They all shook their heads or frowned, but Victor moved closer, placing his hand on Michele’s shoulder and giving it a reassuring squeeze.

“I think it’s best for you to go home and rest, Mickey.”

Victor suggestion was met with some confused looks.

“But-”

“I understand that you’re worried,” continued Victor, “but right now, both you and Sara need some time to think this through. So go home, rest, and we’ll take it one step at a time.”

Michele tried to disagree, but Emil was slowly helping him up and guiding him away. He looked at all of the Host Club members and they gave him reassuring smiles, telling him that it would be alright. He still wanted to speak, but decided against it, only nodding before leaving with Emil. Once gone, the members all sighed, looking at each other with tired eyes.

“So what’s our next step after that then?” asked Phichit.

Victor ran his fingers through his hair as he thought.

“I have no clue.”

* * *

Yuuri came home worried and frustrated. Sara and Michele were still arguing and not only was it clearly hurting them, it was clearly hurting everyone around them too. He understood where both of them were coming from and he knew that if they could just sit down and talk to each other, it would be okay. But both of them were stubborn and unwilling to cooperate, so Yuuri and everyone else was stuck. So distracted was Yuuri that he hadn’t realized that he had already changed into some more comfortable clothing and was now laying in his bed. He sighed hugging a pillow to him, trying to figure out what to do.

Yuuri heard a buzzing noise coming from the ground near his bed. He leaned over and rifled through his backpack to pull out his phone. Yuuri gave a small smile upon seeing that it was a text from Mari, telling him that she had picked up his favorite chips earlier and that they were in the pantry. Getting up, Yuuri made his way to the front.

Like always, Mari was sitting there, magazine in hand. She heard the sound of his bare feet on the floors and looked up, giving him a smile.

“Hey, Yuuri. You get my text?”

Yuuri nodded, but looked unhappy as he did so. Mari frowned when she saw this. She pulled up the extra chair that was normally next to her behind the front desk and patted it. Yuuri went over to sit down. He was looking down, fidgeting with the hem of his shirt, but he could feel Mari’s concerned gaze on him. She said nothing though, patiently waiting for him to speak.

“Mari, I have a question.”

“Yeah. What’s up?”

“Have you ever-” Yuuri paused. “Have I ever-” He stopped again. “I don’t-”

Yuuri shook his head, sighing. He stayed silent as he tried to sort through his thoughts again, while Mari continued to wait patiently, knowing that her brother would speak when he wanted to. He finally gave a frustrated groan.

“Okay. I’ll just tell you everything,” said Yuuri. “So I have these friends and their siblings, twins to be exact, and they’re usually close, really close. But recently, they’ve gotten into an argument, a really big one. You see, Sara thinks it’s time for them to be more independent, but Michele doesn’t want that. He’s worried about his sister and wants her to be safe, but at the same time, I know that he’s also scared of losing her because they’re really close. Meanwhile, I know that Sara wants to be more independent, but I also know that she’s scared too and doesn’t want to lose her brother. She just knows that they can’t go on always being so codependent on each other. They’ve been fighting for awhile now and I don’t know what to do. No one knows what to do, so I came to ask you for help. So yeah.”

Mari blinked before nodding carefully.

“Wow. Well that’s...certainly a lot.”

“I know and I don’t know what to do.”

Yuuri sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. Mari frowned upon seeing the furrow in his brow and how frustrated he was. She let him have a moment to sort through his thoughts again.

“I’ve been trying to help, but the problem is that I don’t understand what they’re going through,” Yuuri confessed. “We never fought like this growing up. We’re not like them. I mean, I’ve never felt something like that before and I know you haven’t either and-”

“No, I’ve felt that way before.”

Yuuri turned to face Mari in shock. “What?”

Mari chuckled lightly upon seeing his expression.“Yuuri, I’m your older sister. Of course I worry about you.”

“But you’ve never said anything about it!”

“Because I thought you knew,” said Mari. Yuuri continued to stare at his sister, doing his best to process this information. Mari shook her head and laughed again before pulling her younger brother into a one-armed hug. “Ya know, for someone as smart and talented as you, you’ve still got a lot of learning to do.”

Yuuri looked away, cheeks blushing, and Mari pulled him closer.

“Yuuri,” continued Mari, “you’ve always worried about me and Mom and Dad. So it shouldn’t be surprising that we all worry about you too. I may not show it in the same way Mom and Dad do, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t care.

“Besides, I know you’re your own person and I know that you’re growing. I’m always going to worry about you. I can’t help it. You’re my little brother. But I know I can’t stop you from doing the things that you love and want. The best thing for me to do is be by your side and always support you. I may not always show how worried and concerned I am, but I always feel that way, Yuuri. It’s what I’m meant to do.”

Yuuri ruminated on her words for a moment before wrapping his arms around his sister. Mari immediately returned his hug and he was suddenly filled with memories of the two of them. He recalled all the times when he would find her late at night in the middle of a thunderstorm. He recalled all the times she comforted him before concerts and competitions. He recalled the time she held him when he heard the news about his dog. He recalled how she hugged him when he came home sobbing. Yuuri had no idea why he never noticed before, but in the end, without fail, Mari was always there. She was always there.

“I’m sorry I didn’t know.”

Yuuri hugged his sister tighter, hoping to show how sorry was and how guilty he was feeling for not fully appreciating all she had done for him. Mari laughed lightly and pulled him closer as well.

“You have no reason to apologize.”

Yuuri pulled away, looking down.

“I know, but I still feel bad about it though. You’ve done so much for me, Mari. Thank you.”

Mari reached over and ruffled Yuuri’s hair, making him smile at the affection.

“Of course, Yuuri.”

The siblings fell silent, but remained close. All this time, Yuuri hadn’t realized how much his sister cared for him. They gazed at each other with appreciation when a lightbulb went off in Yuuri’s mind.

“Oh,” whispered Yuuri. He stood up suddenly. “Oh!”

“You figure it out?” Mari asked.

“Yeah. Yeah, I did!” Yuuri was now running back to his room. “Thanks, Mari!” he called out behind him.

“You’re welcome!”

Mari shook her head and turned her attention back to her phone again. She heard the familiar sound of someone running towards her, but didn’t bother looking up.

“Hey, Mari! Wh-”

“Pantry.”

“Thank you!”

* * *

**[20:32] Yuuri:** We need to do something to help Sara and Michele

**[20:32] Phichit:** like what?

**[20:33] Victor:** oooo! me! me! MEEEEEEEE!!

**[20:33] Victor:** lets just lock them in a closet!

**[20:33] Victor:** and they can talk!

**[20:33] Yuuri:** No!!

**[20:33] Victor:** it always works in movies!! :))

**[20:34] Yuri:** isn’t that like kidnapping and illegal?

**[20:34] Otabek:** yea

**[20:34] Victor:** its only illegal if you get caught ;)

**[20:35] Yuuri:** NO!

**[20:35] Phichit:** no!!!

**[20:35] Chris:** im in

**[20:35] Chris:** that’s what she said

**[20:35] Victor:** ;D

**[20:36] Yuri:** gross

**[20:36] Yuuri:** Can we get back to Sara and Michele?

**[20:36] Phichit:** yeah

**[20:36] Yuri:** pls

**[20:37] Yuuri:** Great

**[20:37] Yuuri:** I do agree that we need to get them to talk to each other though

**[20:37] Yuuri:** Which is why I think I may have an idea

**[20:38] Phichit:** :O

**[20:38] Victor:** afwaejwf why didnt u say antyhign???

**[20:38] Yuuri:** I’ve been trying too…-_-’

**[20:38] Chris:** hey v you do the math homwork yet?

**[20:39] Victor:** we had math??!

**[20:39] Victor:** shit!

**[20:39] Chris:** oooo someones gonna be in trouble

**[20:40] Yuuri:** Guys! Please!

* * *

“Sara! Sara! We have a problem! We have to go!”

“Mila, what’s going on? What do you mean?”

“We have to go now, Sara!”

-

“Mickey! We have to go! We have to go!”

“What? Emil! Wait a minute!”

“Hurry, Mickey! Hurry!”

* * *

On opposite sides of the school, Sara and Michele were both being dragged along by their best friends to who knows where. They weaved through crowds of lingering students and through various corridors and doorways, without any rhyme or reason.

Meanwhile, the Host Club members were all waiting anxiously within Music Room 3. Instead of each of them sitting at their usual areas or working together to set up, all of them were seated on one couch, with an empty one in front of them, waiting for their friends.

Otabek was seated on the arm of the couch, staring intently at something on his phone, while Yuri was seated next to him and was leaned on his knee, trying to watch as well. On the other arm, Chris was perched there, staring off into space. Next to him was Phichit, who was frowning as he tapped away on his laptop. In the middle, Victor sat with his arm around Yuuri’s shoulder, due to the lack of space. Both of them were staring pensively at the wall.

At first glance, they appeared to be calm, simply waiting. But upon closer inspection, one would notice signs of their anxiety: the video that Otabek and Yuri were watching had ended a while ago, Chris couldn’t stop himself from bouncing his leg, Phichit hadn’t even turned on his laptop yet, Yuuri’s hands couldn’t leave the edge of his jacket still, and Victor’s grip on Yuuri’s shoulder was just a smidge too tight.

The silence was stifling and waiting was even worse.

“Do you think this’ll work?”

They all turned to look at Yuuri.

“Do you guys really think this’ll work?”

Chris chuckled. “This was your idea, Yuuri.”

“I know,” he sighed and looked down at his hands. “But...do you really think it’ll work?”

“It’s better than Victor’s kidnapping plan,” remarked Yuri.

“Yeah,” Otabek nodded.

Victor frowned at this and Yuri stuck his tongue out in response, making Victor pout. Chris patted his shoulder, trying to calm him.

Phichit shook his head at this. Reaching over Victor, he patted Yuuri’s knee.

“I think it’s a great idea, Yuuri, so don’t worry. It’ll be fine!”

Yuuri looked up. He was met with Phichit’s broad smile and did his best to give a smile of his own, but worry was evident in his eyes. This plan of his wasn’t much. Just a slightly less illegal version of Victor’s plan. Ultimately, it all depended on Sara and Michele. It all depended on if they were willing to talk and listen to each other. It all depended on them.

Yuuri’s hands began to unconsciously fidget again, his mind racing. What if it doesn’t work? What if it gets worse? What’ll happen to Sara and Michele? What’ll happen to everyone else? What if-

The hand on Yuuri’s shoulder tightened. He looked over to see Victor smiling at him gently.

“It’ll be okay,” Victor whispered.

Yuuri opened his mouth, about to disagree, but the look in Victor’s eyes made him believe that things would go well. All of last night, he had talked to Mari and Phichit, and both of them had tried their best to reassure him that things would be alright. Neither were able to make much progress, but in a few words, Victor had done it.

“Okay,” Yuuri said finally. “Okay.”

BAM!

Everyone’s attention quickly turned towards the doors. Emil came in first, panting and out of breath, as he dragged an equally tired Michele with him.

“Hurry, Mickey! Hurry!” cried Emil.

“I’m trying! Woah!”

Emil stopped suddenly and Michele’s forward momentum kept him going. Seeing this, Emil used it to his advantage and managed to guide Michele to the empty couch without much difficulty.

“Great!” smiled Emil. “Now, just stay there!”

“What? Why? What’s going on?”

Michele looked around the room wildly for answers as to what was going on. His eyes finally landed on the Host Club members, who only smiled and waved at him.

“Sara, come on! We have to hurry!”

“Hurry? Why?”

Everyone turned towards the door again and this time, Mila and Sara came crashing in. Sara tried to stop upon seeing her brother, but Otabek had run off to close and lock the doors the moment they both reached the room. Mila was stronger as well and was able to get her best friend seated on the couch. The twins eyed each other briefly before turning away.

“What’s going on?” they asked in unison.

“We’re locking you in this room until you two talk it out!” chirped Victor.

Around him, the members, along with Emil and Sara, shook their heads and sighed. While true, he didn’t have to say it so bluntly.

“No,” said Sara.

“Yes!” Victor chirped again. “You two,” he pointed to both of them, “are going to sit here and talk things out. The doors are locked and the window are too. We’ll all be in the kitchen area and we promise not to listen in, so you can have some privacy. Okay?”

“But-”

“Okay!” interrupted Victor. He got up suddenly, nearly knocking Yuuri over. “See you in a bit!”

With that, Victor walked off and towards the adjacent room. Sara and Michele stared at everyone else, who only nodded apologetically before getting up to join Victor as well.

“Mila,” Sara pleaded, “don’t-”

“Just talk,” said Mila. “Just talk. Okay?”

Sara huffed, but soon nooded. Mila gave her an apologetic look as she walked by. Michele said nothing to Emil, but his friend reached out to squeeze his shoulder and gave him a thumbs up before joining everyone else. The door to the other room soon closed and the room fell silent. Both of them didn’t know where to begin.

“Sara,” Michele started, “um, I, uh, I-” He sighed and shook his head. “I, uh, oh god.”

Sara silently watched as her brother struggled with his words. This went on for a few more seconds before she finally shook her head and got up.

“I can’t do this.”

Michele looked up in shock. It took him a moment to register that Sara was trying to leave and he quickly got up as well.

“Wait. Sara, please.”

She said nothing, only continuing to walk away.

“Sara,” he repeated.

Still nothing. Michele was getting desperate.

“Sara, I’m sorry!”

She stopped.

Michele gasped upon seeing this, but Sara still hadn’t turned around.

“I’m sorry,” he continued. “I’m sorry, Sara.”

Sara sighed and carefully turned around. Michele gave her an apologetic smile. He nodded towards the couch, silently telling her to sit with him. They walked over in silence. Once seated, Michele continued speaking.

“Sara, I’m sorry about how...restrictive I’ve been. I’ve been really worried lately and you’re my baby sister. I want to make sure you’re okay. I know it doesn’t excuse how I’ve been acting, but I’m really sorry.”

Michele watched his sister’s expression carefully. Her face was pensive, but she eventually nodded.

“I know,” Sara said finally. She looked directly at her brother now. “I know, Mickey. I know you’re worried. I understand that.” She reached over to hold his hand, squeezing it tightly. “But I’m gonna be okay. It’s gonna be okay!”

Sara smiled at her brother, hoping to ease his worries. He smiled back, but his anxiety was clear.

“I know, Sara. It’s just...I’m scared I’m gonna lose you,” Michele confessed.

“Lose me? Why would you lose me?”

Michele sighed and ran his fingers through his hair as he sorted his words.

“Sara, we’ve been together our whole lives. I was born first, but even then, I don’t remember a time in my life where you weren’t in it. You’re my first and best friend, and we’ve always been by each other’s side. It’s always been us together. But now that we’re older and with graduation coming up, I realized that we can’t always be together. We may be twins, but we’re also separate people. We’re both about to leave for college and I’m scared. I’m scared that we would grow apart. I’m scared that...I’m gonna lose you.”

“Mickey…”

“It doesn’t excuse how I’ve been treating you though. I’ve been really shitty to you. I’m sorry, Sara.”

At this, Sara promptly wrapped her arms around Michele, burrowing her face into his shoulder as she hugged him tightly. Michele was surprised by the action, but returned her hug upon hearing the sound of her crying. He couldn’t hold back his tears either.

“You’re so stupid, Mickey.”

“What?”

Michele pulled back slightly to look at his sister. Sara pulled back as well, laughing as she wiped away her tears.

“Mickey, you’re so stupid,” repeated Sara. She hit his shoulder lightly. “You think I haven’t been worried? You think I didn’t know what could happen to us? Of course I knew, Mickey. But it’s like you said. It’s always been us together. We’re gonna be separated because we’re two separate people, but that doesn’t mean we won’t be by each other’s side. You’re my brother, my twin brother. I know you’re always gonna be by my side and I know I’m always gonna be by yours. We may not be there physically for each other, but we’ll always be by each other’s side.”

“So don’t worry, Mickey. We’ll get through this whole graduation thing just fine.”

At this, Sara hugged her brother tightly again and he returned the hug tenfold. Michele turned and placed a chaste kiss in his sister’s hair.

“I love you, Sara.”

“I love you too, Mickey.”

BAM!

The touching reunion between the twins was suddenly broken by the sound of a door slamming open. The two of them pulled apart quickly searching for the source of the interruption and found Victor standing before them with a cake held over his head and wide smile on his face. Behind him, everyone else was laughing at his antics.

“Yay! You guys love each other again, which means it’s time for cake!”

Victor looked around excitedly, trying to get the others to be as excited as he was. Phichit came up to Victor and placed a hand on his shoulder.

“Victor, please.”

Victor huffed at this. “I don’t know why you’re complaining, Phichit. The cake was your idea to begin with.”

Phichit said nothing, knowing it would be pointless. Instead, he let Victor skip towards the twins, cake in hand. Once before them, he brought the cake down from above him and showed him what was written on it in pink icing.

“‘Womb mates 4 life’? Really?”

Michele stared at Victor, as if unable to truly believe that he had gotten that written on a cake. Victor only smiled even more, proud of his clever pun. Michele looked like he wanted to say something, but stopped himself at the sound of Sara laughing beside him.

“I love it!” exclaimed Sara, which only added to Victor’s ego.

“Really?” Michele asked.

Sara nodded. “It suits us. Don’t you think?”

The twins turned to face each other. Sara was smiling brightly, while Michele appeared to be frowning. The two of them remained silent, but it was clear they were speaking. Eventually, Michele glanced back towards the cake and gave a small smile.

“I suppose it does.”

The others all cheered at this, happy to see their friends no longer fighting. It had been hard on all of them seeing their friends unhappy, but they knew it must have been even harder for Sara and Michele. Because even though they were fighting, there was no denying that that was when they needed the other the most. They were each other’s first and best friend, and they would always be each other’s first and best friend. For Sara and Michele, there really is no friend like a sibling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for your endless support and patience. <3
> 
> [dangcommaannie.tumblr.com](http://dangcommaannie.tumblr.com)   
>  [Updates](http://dangcommaannie.tumblr.com/tagged/annie-writes-updates)   
>  [Extras](http://dangcommaannie.tumblr.com/tagged/kiss-kiss-katsudon-extras)


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